Mind, Soul and Body: Shadows of the Past
by Corlock Striker
Summary: Ryo wakes up after a strange dream. All the troopers and the Mashou have had it. What could this mean, and who else has had the dream? Set after the series. Deals with the origin of Arago's armor, and Kaos's involvement with it. Features all cannons.
1. Chapter 1: Premonitions

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. Just don't expect any answers as to what exactly is going on, until around chapter six. At the earliest. You'll notice in the story that I use (POV Shift) and (Time Skip) to signal such things. This is due to this site not allowing me to make use of the publishing industry standard of a line with three asterisks to signal a change in POV and a skipped line to signal a time skip. I put those things in, and it takes them out. So, I had to resort to the above, instead of following standard practice within the publishing industry. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter One: Premonitions  
By Corlock Striker

March 24, 2001 Tokyo, Japan -

Black faded, twisted, and morphed into brilliant color. Arago was there. He was pale and ghostly, then he suddenly swirled away, becoming Viking Boats. The boats multiplied and the scene pulled out, until there was a glimpse of the whole world. The boats covered it and coalesced into a man like shape. The boat creature held the planet in its wooden plank palm. It's dragon head tipped fingers dug into the fertile earth causing all the green things to die. The image faded, fifteen figures emerged out of the darkness of his mind. This took place before the vast death; somehow our observer knew. He recognized nine of the figures. There were the five Samurai Troopers, and the four Mashou.

Then there were six more indistinct figures in groups of two, one male and one female in each group. He knew this, despite the lack of distinguishing features. All he could see was that two had demon wings, while two others had angel wings. The final two figures, though blurry, appeared to be a normal man and woman. The male demon winged figure filled his vision for a moment. Then he saw all fifteen figures again, in a circle. They morphed together. Out of the mess of colors rose a green dragon. There was the Viking Boat Creature again. The dragon leaped forward to attack it. The images cut out. Suddenly the Staff of the Ancients filled his vision.

Next thing he knew Ryo bolted upright in his bed shivering, panting, and covered in a cold sweat. White Blaze looked up when Ryo awoke. Seeing no danger the tiger went right back to sleep. Ryo sat in his bed thinking. _What the hell did that dream mean? Did it mean anything at all?_ Was it just a strange nightmare conjured by his subconscious for no real reason what so ever? That was probably too much to hope for.

He threw the covers of his bed aside. After taking a shower and dressing in some junky clothes, he looked over to his phone. He'd have to call the other Troopers. If this was just another false alarm they'd kill him. His gut told him this was too important to wait, delaying might cost a lot of lives. He'd call Toma first, he'd been the most receptive Ryo's dreams in the past. If Toma felt it wasn't a false alarm, he'd call Seiji, Shin, and finally Shu. He picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number for the Trooper of Wisdom.

(POV Shift)

March 24, 2001 Arago's Former Castle -

Kayura shot up in her bed, panting and quaking. Her eyes darted around the dark room until she calmed down enough to begin making semi-rational thoughts. What a strange dream. What did it all have to do with Arago? Why had she seen the Staff of the Ancients at the end of her dream? Had Arago stolen it?

She leapt to her feet and ran into the room adjacent to her bedroom in Arago's former castle. The room was a shrine to her ancestors, protected by her own magics. It was the safest place in all the Human and Nether Realms to keep the Staff. She quickly glanced around the shrine. There atop the altar, right where she had left it was the Staff of the Ancients. She closed her eyes and reached out to the Staff with her soul. It responded instantly. It was not an imitation.

Everything was as it should be, but her dream and the cold shiver running up her spine insisted that such was not the case. However, if the Staff of the Ancients was safe, then what could possibly be wrong? She left the Shrine of her Ancestors and calmly stepped back into her bedroom. She gathered up a folded towel and a silk kimono. She needed to take a bath. Then she would talk to the other Mashou.

(POV Shift)

January 1, 2001 Rye, New York -

Her father handed her small wooden box. "Dad, do I have to take this stupid heirloom?" The girl whined. "I mean, come on Dad, I bet you that family legend is a bunch of bullshit. After all, how much faith can you really put in Irish folklore? Need I bring up Leprechauns? Are you going to try and tell me, you honestly believe that two dusty mismatched colored glass spheres, small enough to fit comfortably in the palm of my hand, have the potential to save the world? Please tell me you're not that gullible," she was pleading with him now. Those glass spheres gave her the creeps and she didn't want to have a damn thing to do with them.

Her father turned a stern gaze her way, his blue eyes becoming cold and plainly stating she had just offended him. His gaze burned into her own jade green eyes. Obviously she had said exactly the wrong thing. "In my lifetime, Patricia Meagan O'Connor," he used her full name, never a good sign, "I have learned never to treat Irish folklore lightly. Especially Irish folklore that is passed down in only one family for fifteen generations. I suggest you learn to accept the role that your ancestors set aside for you. According to their predictions you will know who to give these spheres to. Allowing them to fulfill their role in continuing the existence of the human race on this planet. You will give them to whomever it is you're supposed to give them to. You have no choice in the matter, Patricia. That is final."

Trish winced. He was still using Patricia, which meant he was still ticked off. She still thought this was completely unfair, how the hell was she supposed to find this person? Trish looked up at her father out of the corner of her eye. He was smirking. Obviously he thought he had cowed her. Time to show him otherwise. "And just how am I supposed to find this person? The only clue our illustrious ancestors left me was to 'look for the broken boy, with unquenchable fire still burning in his eyes. A fool and a wise man will he be. Two persons in one body, putting others first, to a fault.' What does that even mean? It's not helpful at all," Trish verbally thrust at her father.

Her father's head dropped in disappointment as it shook from side to side. "Don't know about the first part, but the second is easy. This person is wise, but you likely won't think it because he often acts the fool. Two persons in one body, I'm not sure about." He shrugged, "It could mean a split personality, or it could mean that based on context, the person can seem like two different people. As for the last bit. Well, it means this person puts other people's needs before his own, to the point where it is a character flaw, and possibly self-destructive." He was lecturing now, "There is some sort of dual nature to this person. That much is blatantly obvious." Her father turned and left the room, leaving the cherry box with the two spheres in it open, allowing it to stare at her in contempt with its mismatched eyes, one black and one maroon.

Trish slammed the box shut to make that disconcerting stare vanish into darkness. She flopped backwards onto her bed. What kind of person could be two people in one body? What kind of person would put other people first to such an extent that it was self-destructive? Who would be both a fool and a wise man? She hated riddles.

(POV Shift)

March 24, 2001 Tokyo, Japan -

Ryo hung up the phone after speaking with Shu. His hand was shaking and his face was ashen. All five of them had the same exact dream last night. That likely did not mean safety and security for the world in the coming months. Ryo walked to his bathroom and splashed his face with cold water, it was going to start again soon. He was twenty-five now, the last thing he needed was another villain who wanted the world in his or her power. Ryo had a life now, a job, real responsibilities; he was getting too old for this. It was unfair of the world to ask him to save it again, but he knew there was only one choice he could make in good conscience. He would save it. He rubbed his face dry with a washcloth, the vigorous action putting some color back into his skin. Then, rather abruptly, there was a knock at his door.

_Who in the fuck could that be? It's 8:30 am on a Saturday morning._ He'd still be asleep himself, if it hadn't been for that blasted dream. Ryo's eyes narrowed as thoughts of the dream flitted through the neural pathways of his brain. Perhaps this new battle had already started. Perhaps they didn't have any time to prepare for it. There was a knock at the door again.

Ryo yelled, "_Be right there._" He stopped at his desk and pulled out a hunting knife from one of the drawers, naked steel glittered in the early morning light. There wasn't time to summon his armor right now. In addition, his apartment building would be a bad place for a fight with that kind of power, considering he would like it to remain standing afterwords. After all, he did want a home to return to. Thus, the knife it was. There was that knock again, it was growing impatient. Ryo yelled once more, annoyance settling into his voice, "_I'm comin', I'm comin'._"

Ryo thought it odd that a potential attacker would keep knocking, instead of simply breaking down the door. Maybe it was an attempt to get him to lower his guard. Ryo crept over to the door and looked through the peep hole. Kayura was standing outside his apartment in fairly modern clothing. High heels, a black miniskirt, a deep blue sleeveless top, things made in the last five years. She was uneasily shifting her weight from one foot to the other, nervously glancing up and down his hallway. She raised her arm to knock again.

Ryo quickly opened the door, grabbed her wrist, scanned the hallway for potential threats, and seeing none yanked Kayura unceremoniously into his apartment, practically slamming the door into her as he immediately slammed it. "_What the hell are you doing here?_" Ryo snapped.

Kayura pulled her hand out of Ryo's grasp, rubbing her wrist, and laughed nervously. Finally she responded, "_Why do you think! Or do you always greet guests with a bared knife? Any interesting dreams lately?_" Then she gave him that infuriating smirk of hers he knew all too well.

Ryo glared at her fear and frustration flashing in his blue eyes. A low growl rumbled over from the far side of the room. White Blaze expressed his displeasure at Kayura's games and at being woken, again. "_Oh you mean the one with Arago,"_ Ryo hissed._ "The man shaped creature of Viking Ships that held the world in its wooden palm, the five Trooper Armors, the four Mashou armors, the two figures with demon wings, the two figures with angel wings, a blurry man and woman, a great green dragon, and the Staff of the Ancients?_"

Kayura nodded in response.

Ryo smiled with sadistic pleasure, "_You're going to love this then. Me and the other Troopers all had that dream last night._" He thought this would be shocking news to Kayura, and was taking great pleasure in delivering it to her. To return the favor for the shock the Lady Ancient had already given him.

Kayura smiled sweetly at him and nodded in satisfaction. "_I thought that would be the case. The Mashou and I all had that dream last night as well. It is now quite obvious that trouble is brewing. Wouldn't you say?_"

Ryo stared at Kayura flatly as he sat down in one of the chairs scattered around his apartment. Once again his mood had turned rather sour. Somehow the Lady Ancient managed to suck the enjoyment out of nearly everything one tried to do. He motioned for Kayura to sit in another chair nearby. He was unimpressed, "_That's a no brainer. Even Shu figured that one out. Do you at least know what any of it means? Or is what you've told me thus far the extent of your knowledge on the subject?_"

Kayura's face went red. She sighed, her answer dragged out of her throat, "_The Mashou and I are looking through all the writings we have. In fact, Naaza and Anubis are actually being useful in this endeavor. I believe that dream scared them greatly. I came here to ask you to get in touch with Nast__é__, Ryo. Her grandfather had access to some texts we do not have at the castle, and I feel it is important we exhaust all our resources in our search for information. I don't know how much time we have until this next battle starts._"

Ryo nodded, "_I'll have Seiji call her. He's always been the closest to her. At a civilized hour,_" he amended as he saw Kayura look to the phone expectantly. He continued, "_So for now I guess the plan is research and train as much as possible, hmm?_"

Kayura shrugged, "_It seems those are the only things we can do for now. I'll check back every week to see how things are going._"

Ryo nodded, "_Right. See you in a week then._"

Kayura got up from her seat and walked out the door of the apartment, leaving Ryo and his tiger alone in the dark space of his apartment. He turned to the phone and stared at it for a moment before picking it up again and dialing Seiji's number.

(POV Shift)

March 23, 2001 Odawara, Japan -

The phone rang over the running water, barely audible. Her afternoon would not be quiet after all. She turned off the faucet, set the plate down, and grabbed a dish cloth. She reached for the phone. Her hand hovered over it for a moment. A cold shiver crawled its way up her spine. She had a feeling that her carefully ordered life was about to go spinning out of control. The ringing of the phone, needy and constant, broke her hesitation. She had to put a stop to that horrible noise.

She picked up the handset and brought it to her ear, "_Hello?_"

It was Seiji, his voice seemed pained. Was he injured?

"_Are you hurt, Seiji?_" The words came out before she realized what she was saying. Why was there so much concern in her voice? Well, Seiji was a good friend and she wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him. He and the others had already been through so much, they didn't deserve to have any more pain in their lives.

"_I'm fine Nast__é__, but I need to ask you a favor._"

"_What is it? Anything you need is fine by me._" Why was she so eager to please him? He had saved her life on numerous occasions. That must be it, the fact that she owed him more than she, or any human, could possibly repay.

"_It seems that trouble is brewing and we want to be prepared. We were hoping we could look through your grandfather's research. There might be something in there that could help us, a clue or something._"

"_Of course. You and the others are welcome to come by anytime you like._" She could feel her pulse racing.

"_It might take a while for us to find anything. Especially since we're not really sure what we're looking for. Who can say how long we'll be in your hair for, or how frequently you'll be seeing us. Are you sure you're okay with this?_"

"_Of course I am, Seiji. Do you think I don't know my own mind? Take as much time as you need. As you know there are plenty of spare bedrooms at my place, so don't feel embarrassed about spending the night. There's always room for you, and the others here._" Ryo, Toma, Seiji, Shin, and Shu were all good friends. Nothing more. It would be nice to see all of them again, but there was no reason for her to be so excited by such a prospect.

"_Thanks Nast__é. __ I'll call back to let you know when you can expect us. First, I need to iron out all the details with the guys._"

"_Right. I'll be waiting to hear back from you._"

"_Okay then, bye._"

"_Bye, Seiji._" There was a click from the other end of the line. Nasté hung up her receiver after hearing it. As she took her hand off the phone a slight giggle escaped her lips. What was wrong with her?

(POV Shift)

March 24, 2001 Sendai, Japan -

Bare feet shuffled back and forth across the padded floor. Their movements were methodical and repetitious. Each step followed the other in what seemed a set order, like a dance. That was as it should be. While these steps would look entirely out of place on a dance floor, they were part of a dance. A highly ritualized dance meant to prepare the practitioner for the oldest dance of all.

As the bamboo blade cut through the air, he let out a loud yell. His scream of "_Ka_" cut through the eerie silence of the dojo like the Nodatchi of Light through Anubis's darkness, setting his mind at ease and calming his nerves. Body and blade flowed effortlessly through the steps of the Kata, one designed to for fighting multiple opponents. Just then he heard movement behind him. Like lightning he pivoted on his back foot, raising his sword above his head. He stepped towards his target, bringing his blade down in a vertical slash. He let out a loud "_Ka,_" shattering the darkness of worry encroaching on his heart, at least for the moment.

There was a loud clap and his blade stopped its downward motion. He tried to raise it, to continue the Kata he was practicing, but it wouldn't move. The Kata had put him in a meditative daze, which started to lift as he struggled to raise his sword. He saw the world around him. He comprehended; it was clasped between two withered, liver-spotted hands which seemed too frail to have stopped his attack. However, their presence on the blade said otherwise. The young man hadn't needed a demonstration to know the owner of those hands was capable of such a feat, but he had gotten one anyway.

"_I apologize. I should have announced myself before approaching while you were in the middle of a Kata I know better than most how you get. It's just that I have not seen you here in quite a while. It is nice to see you again, Seiji._" With that said, his grandfather let go of the bamboo blade and clasped his hands behind his back. Date-sensei, as he insisted he be called to this day, was quite old. His skin was like old parchment, his build skeletal; though he did not resemble a skeleton so much, as his skin seemed to hang loosely from his bones. Everyone in the Date family moved very carefully around him, as they all seemed to think Date-sensei was made of the most delicate porcelain. At moments like this, his grandfather proved just how wrong their impression was.

"_It's alright Date-sensei. I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings. I should have recognized your footsteps,_" was the meek reply Seiji offered his grandfather.

A great guffaw filled the dojo, originating in Date-sensei's belly, "_Of course you should have been paying better attention to your surroundings. I've been telling you that since you were six._" Date-sensei began to shuffle across the dojo, in the general direction of the equipment room. Once more the old man's voice cut through the silence of the dojo, as he spoke over his shoulder, "_Have you been practicing? Other than just now, of course?_"

Seiji quickly turned his back on his grandfather. Allowing the man to see your face while lying was a fatal mistake. Date-sensei hated lying and he would catch you in a lie, if he was looking at your face. "_Of course I have been, Date-sensei._"

A light and knowing chuckle carried across the room to Seiji's ears. "_Prove it,_" his grandfather's voice was suddenly full of strength and challenge, the man sounded like a twenty year old. Seiji spun around to face his grandfather and found the man emerging from the equipment room carrying a practice sword and two sets of Kendo pads.

Seiji's jaw hung open, he snapped it shut, the rest of his body going rigid with the action. Regaining his composure, Seiji responded, "_I am not going to fight you, Date-sensei._"

Date-sensei shuffled back across the dojo towards Seiji, still carrying all the equipment. He snapped at his grandson, "_As I recall, I am still the master of this dojo, I am still your Sensei in Kendo, and I am your grandfather. As far as I am aware that means you are obligated to do as I say. You, young man, do not have the luxury of refusal when I tell you to do something. Is that clear?_"

A silent sigh passed Seiji's lips as he bowed his head in acquiescence, saying in a clear voice, "_Yes Sensei, it is clear._"

Date-sensei nodded his head in approval, "_Now get over here and help your 'ailing' grandfather with this equipment. Then get ready to spar._" Date-sensei stopped shuffling across the dojo and waited for Seiji to come to him. The old man was waiting in the center of the dojo floor.

Seiji walked over to his grandfather, the canvas of the padded floor rough against his bare feet but providing sure footing. He took one set of Kendo pads and a mask from his grandfather. He donned the equipment, his grandfather an eerie reflection of himself. Finally, he picked up his sword, bowed to his grandfather and slipped into the fighting stance.

As Date-sensei slipped into the fighting stance, a small sigh escaped his lips, "_Ah, that is much more comfortable._" Seiji then found himself looking right into his grandfather's violet eyes. They were filled with an undying fire, even at his current age. This would not be an easy fight. "_You ready then, Seiji?_"

(POV Shift)

July 14, 2000 Sacramento, California -

He looked across the table at his wife and smiled weakly. She reached across the dark wood of their kitchen table and gently squeezed his hand. Her smile gave him confidence, it always had, and she flashed it at him now. He let out a deep breath, gathering his composure. His company was transferring him to the New York Office, a big promotion. The only problem was going to be telling his daughter they were moving. Such news never went over well with teenagers.

The laughter of a group of kids approaching grew into audible background noise in the kitchen. It seemed to fill his head, plaguing him with unjustified guilt. Claire was happy here. Who was he to tear her away from her friends? Her father, of course, and he was looking to ensure the financial security of his family. He had no reason to feel any guilt at all, too bad that didn't make it go away. He was recalling, all to well at the moment, how he had felt when his parents had told him they were moving in the middle of his High School years. He didn't want to make his daughter feel that way, or hate him and her mother like that, but there was no real choice, it seemed.

There was an elongated creak as the front door was slowly opened. "Alright, see you tomorrow, Claire," a boy's voice carried into the house, accompanied by the happy laughter and jokes of a group of teenagers. It was such a rare sound for a parent to hear, a sound that carried with it a sense of distance and separation.

"Yeah, Danny, I'll see you guys tomorrow," his daughter sang back. As he heard the tone in her voice, he knew it wouldn't last long. She'd see this news as an attempt to destroy and control her life. Claire would not be pleasant company for the next few months.

"Claire, would you come into the kitchen for a moment," he called out to her. "Your mother and I have some news we need to share with you." Need to share, yeah, that was the right phrasing. They didn't want to share it, but they certainly had to.

Claire stepped into the room, flipping red hair over her shoulder to get it out of the way. He smiled, thinking she probably forgot that the boy, whose attention she was trying to get with that action, wasn't around any longer. "What's up?"

"Why don't you sit down." Claire walked cautiously to the table and sat down slowly. As she sat a slight frown flashed across her face. It seemed the walls were going up already. The tone of his voice must have given away more than he thought, "I got promoted at work."

His daughter gave him a cockeyed look. "That's what you wanted to tell me? That's great news dad, congratulations. Sorry if I sound a little odd, it's just that I thought you were going to tell me bad news. Can I go now? Are we done?"

"Not quite," he took a deep breath, the bombshell was about to drop. "See, I also got transferred to the New York Office when I was promoted. That means we're going to be moving."

Claire shot up onto her feet, "WHAT?! No, we...I...NO!"

Katherine reached a hand toward Claire, trying to clasp her daughter's hand, "Claire, it's okay. Just calm down, take a few breaths." Claire flinched away from her mother's hand, but Katherine caught her hand anyway. As Katherine soothed her, Claire closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, she took her seat once again. "See, that's better, now just take a few moments to gather your thoughts."

Claire extricated her hand from her mother's grasp and opened her eyes after a few moments, if you could call it that. They were barely visible slits, "I don't want to move. At least, not across the country, up the street, maybe. I like it here. My friends are here."

"I know that Claire, but you're going to have to start saying your goodbyes. We have to move. You'll like New York. We're going to move to Larchmont, it's the town I grew up in. You'll make plenty of new friends. There's really nothing to be upset about." He knew those last words were a mistake as soon as he said them.

His daughter's eyes flashed with fire, "I don't want new friends. I want my friends, and I want my school. So don't even try some stupid line about how I'll just love my new school, because I won't. I promise." She spat out that last bit like it was acid. "Now, I think this conversation has run its course. So, if you'll excuse me." With that Claire turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, taking all its warmth with her.

He turned to his wife and smiled weakly, "Well, that went well. Wouldn't you say?"

Katherine's only response was to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. Everything would turn out okay. Eventually.

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Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

Thanks for reading.

-Corlock Striker


	2. Chapter 2: Quintessence

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. Just don't expect any answers as to what exactly is going on, until around chapter six. At the earliest. You'll notice in the story that I use (POV Shift) and (Time Skip) to signal such things. This is due to this site not allowing me to make use of the publishing industry standard of a line with three asterisks to signal a change in POV and a skipped line to signal a time skip. I put those things in, and it takes them out. So, I had to resort to the above, instead of following standard practice within the publishing industry. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Two: Quintessence  
By Corlock Striker

January 25, 2001 Rye, New York -

"Summer" off of _ANThology_ by Alien Ant Farm was playing through his head as he trudged up the stairs to the top floor of the school. He went to a rather fancy private school in Rye, NY. Of course, the high school building wouldn't give that impression. The Pinkham Building, as it was called, was a rather ugly result of 1970's architecture. It was a good school though, the teachers were excellent and the classes were tough. He just hated the other students. They didn't really like him, and he thought most of them were morons. As a result, he pretty much hated school. The funny thing was, as far as he could tell, everyone at the school hated something about it. That was what they all had in common, that was their school spirit, a mutual dislike of their school. Sure, everyone had a different reason for hating the place, the teachers, the classes, the student body, or the administration and their rules. In the end though, despite all their varying reasons, it all boiled down to everyone hating the school. It was that hate that unified them.

The one blessing for Sad was that no one at the school really knew him. Sure that meant he didn't really know them either, but from what he observed, he didn't want to know most of them. The less they knew about him, the better off he was, at least in his own mind. Sad had spent most of his life being teased by his peers, many times because of an odd way of phrasing a statement, or some other accidental slip of the tongue in which he revealed something about himself. Thus, over the years he learned to keep details about himself to himself, to prevent such information from being used as ammunition against him. It was a learned defense mechanism and a double edged sword. It made Sad seem distant and aloof from his peers, almost as if he thought he was better than them, and prevented him from opening up to others. That in turn prevented him from making many friends. Sad was okay with that though. He had enough very close friends outside of this school that he had known for years. As far as he was concerned, he didn't need any of his classmates for friends, except for Pete.

He stepped onto the top floor of the school and looked around. He was in a class at the moment, creative writing. The teacher had told them to go around the school and observe things, looking for inspiration. He swiveled his head, blue eyes looking for something to catch his interest. Inspiration is such a fleeting mistress, one minute she's with you, the next she's moved on to some other poor sap. He walked past a group of girls studying. This school was so pathetic. No one was doing anything interesting or worth writing a story about. What a bore. He could invent better stuff off the top of his head.

This school needed more characters. People who didn't care about looking like fools, people who would just be themselves. People like him. Despite his distant and aloof appearance, Sad was more than willing to speak his mind when the opportunity presented itself, and more than willing go where the wind took him, or do what he felt like doing. If he felt like running through the halls screaming at the top of his lungs, he probably would. A character trait that in some ways worsened his standing with his peers.

He walked past more students studying. Towards the end of the hall a group of students were talking, and a phrase uttered by one of the girls in the group captured his imagination. The intriguing sentence started out with, "I was only six..." To Sad, what she actually followed that statement with didn't matter, he was in his own little world now. A world where he was writing the script. The psychoanalytical part of his mind stated kicking in after hearing that phrase, making a new and possibly fictitious ending for her sentence.

He started scripting in his mind, "I was only six, and it's okay to want to marry your dad at that age. I mean come on." She nudged the guy next to her in the ribs with her elbow, "I bet you wanted to marry your mom when you were six. It's a natural part of the child's psyche. Least that's what Freud says, and I believe him. The man was a genius, you should read up on him."

In Sad's mind the boy rolled his eyes as he replied, "I'd rather not learn more about the Oedipus Complex, or Penis Envy. Thank you very much."

"Oh, you're so closed minded. Just like everyone else at this school. Aren't there any people in this entire school that are willing to try thinking a bit differently than they already do? That won't take things at face value?" The guy next to her gave her a blank stare, in Sad's mind. "That's what I thought," she rolled her eyes, disgusted.

Sad shook her voice out of his head, and continued on, looking for his next victim, his next source for inspiration. _Maybe the freshmen will be interesting. After all, they are in the anal stage_. Turning a corner, Sad saw two of the idiots that inhabited the school pushing each other around. Over something trivial, no doubt. He couldn't help thinking they looked like monkeys. On the bench in the middle of the hallway was a group of students in Sad's class, sitting there laughing at the antics of the monkeys. Sad rolled his eyes, walking past them.

One of boys on the bench called out, "Hey Sad."

Sad didn't bother to reply. He knew they were just trying to get him to stop, so they could "talk" with him. Of course, their version of talking generally involved mocking him in some way, or at least that was almost always the outcome. To save himself the annoyance, Sad walked silently by. He didn't make eye contact, or acknowledge the greeting.

The same fool spoke up again, "Whoa, Columbine, man."

That comment Sad couldn't ignore. He balled his fists as he turned around and stormed over to the group on the bench. He spoke through clenched teeth, "Who said that?"

Another member of the group on the bench pointed to someone. Recognizing the kid's voice, Sad knew he was the culprit.

He leaned in close to the sub-human that made the comment. Their faces about an inch apart, Sad made use of what his father referred to as eyeball to eyeball contact. An intimidation technique his father picked up as an officer in the army. Sad jabbed his index finger into the guy's face, not making contact. He growled out, "That was not funny." Finished, Sad pulled away from the fool, and faded around the corner. It was time to return to class. He was too angry to observe people now.

As he walked away, Sad heard the kid ask, "What was that about?"

That he didn't understand what just occurred only confirmed his utter stupidity for Sad. Oh, yes, he was quite right not to bother trying to get to know these people. That they couldn't understand that no matter how much he might hate them, he'd never do anything like what occurred at Columbine only justified this behavior for Sad. Of course, that they didn't know him very well at all, because he didn't want them to, might in fact be the very reason they didn't know that about Sad. It was hard to say. To Sad, the fact that he wasn't capable of such an act was such a fundamental part of his personality he felt people should be able to figure it out after talking to him for a few minutes. That his classmates didn't know this about him perhaps spoke volumes about how well he did at closing himself off from them, and how poorly he hid his disdain and dislike of them.

(POV Shift)

"That was not funny," his voice a staccato, placing an emphasis of rage behind each syllable. He was the oldest kid in their class by a year. He had switched from public school after the seventh grade and repeated it for some reason. Despite being the chronologically oldest kid in the class, Sad looked to be about 14 or 15. That must suck, since he was 17. He was probably about her height, or taller by an inch or two if she wasn't wearing heels, which made him somewhere between 5' 6" and 5' 8". It was hard to tell because he slouched all the time. He was a little overweight. He wasn't so overweight that he seemed to be round in shape, but he wasn't thin. His hair was dirty blond and cut short. The cut suggested his hair should be parted off to one side. However, his hair had other ideas, as his bangs were perpetually hanging in front of his forehead. At times, they even hung over the top of the oval shaped silver framed glasses he wore, and down into his eyes, like they were doing right now. He wore a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans, both baggy. Probably in an attempt to disguise his weight.

The baggy clothes, coupled with his slouch diminished him. However, with his face mere inches from the face of Evan Limone, and his shoulder's squared rather than slouched, it suddenly occurred to everyone, or at least Trish and probably Evan, that Sad was far bigger and far more intimidating than they all thought. Had Sad tricked all of them into thinking he was less of a threat than he really was? As suddenly as Sad had pounced upon Evan, he was around the corner and out of sight.

Evan spoke up, preceded by a gulp of air and a second or two of silence, "What was that about?"

Trish found herself thinking the same thing. Oh, she understood that it was Evan's Columbine comment that had set Sad upon him like a rabid dog. She was more curious as to why that comment had set Sad off, in such a spectacular manner. It was extremely rare for anyone to get under his skin like that. There were only two other incidences where Sad had reacted so explosively in the five years he'd been at the school. Every other time people tried to get a rise out of him, he shrugged it off. As far as everyone knew, Sad had no love for any of them. He didn't even seem that close to the group of people he hung out with during the day. So, why is it that someone stating that he was acting like one of the Columbine shooters got him so angry?

Back in freshman year after the Columbine attacks, Sad had no problem with people saying that he was the type of kid who would do that. He'd even gone along with the idea. Telling people how he couldn't have a hit list written down by law, because his family owned guns. People asked him about it all the time, and he smirked and talked about it like it was nothing, saying that even without a hit list he knew who he'd go after. So, why was it that two years later, he'd react so violently to such a comparison made by Evan in a joking manner? A puzzling question indeed.

(POV Shift)

Date Unknown, The Nether Realm -

In a long forgotten section of the Nether Realm, a barren wasteland of black sand dominated by a lone gray monolith that pierced the sky, a sphere made of white light floated towards the solitary landmark. When the sphere was about an arms length away from the pillar, an arm, made of the same white light, reached out for the gray stone. As the glowing white hand reached the smoky surface, it didn't feel the grainy texture of the stone, as it passed through it. The white orb let out a laugh that echoed throughout this hidden corner of the Nether Realm. A booming voice found it's way out of the orb, resounding with malice, "_Finally, I shall have my revenge on those cursed whelps. Soon, I shall bring forth life from this ancient tomb. Once that is done, no world will stand a chance._" There were few in the mortal world that would recognize the voice, yet there were many in the Nether Realm who would quake upon hearing it. Once more that laugh rippled across the landscape, which responded quite happily to the malice in the voice. The white orb sank into the gray stone.

Not long after, the gray stone of the monolith cracked and fell to the ground. Once the stone had fallen away, a masculine figure stood in the center of the rubble. The man was about six feet nine inches tall, with a bushy white beard and matching shoulder length hair. His frame had a look of raw power to it, and he only had one eye. He wore red armor with silver trim, adorned all over with silver spikes, his bucket of a helmet hung at his waist. The figured stretched out his arms, muscles coiling and rippling beneath his skin. In a deep rumbling voice the figure spoke to the country side. The barren wasteland cringing away from his voice, "_Finally, we are free._" A vastly different laugh crashed across the landscape. "_Soon, mankind shall know our fury, and cower before us,_" the figure looked down at his armor. "_But first we must recover what that fool monk stole from us,_" the figure tapped a finger against his chin, "_this will require some help. We know just where to start._" The figure walked towards his chosen destination.

(POV Shift)

March 25, 2001 Sendai, Japan -

The clack of bamboo swords against each other filled his head as he completed a Kata and came out of his meditative daze. He rubbed at his neck, wincing. Date-sensei had not gone easy on him last night, and his lack of practice had made itself apparent. He turned, watching his grandfather with a student. It was impressive, the student seemed to be holding his own against Date-sensei. Seiji could tell that his grandfather was holding back, but not by much. The hour struck, and the student and his grandfather stopped sparring. The student bowed and his grandfather returned it. His grandfather spoke, "_You are improving greatly. I have not had a student as talented as you in quite some time. Very impressive._"

The student nodded, and bowed once more. The boy's head turned and saw Seiji, the boy did a double take. He ripped off his mask and gave Seiji a wide grin that Seiji knew all too well. The boy had grown up a great deal in ten years, he was in his late teens now. He had an athletic build, and his hair was damp with sweat. His face had matured, but there was no mistaking it, the boy was Jun. The young man made his way over to Seiji, a swagger in his step. "_Hey there, Seiji, long time no see._"

Seiji nodded, a smirk playing on his face, "_Yes, it has been quite a long time Jun. How've you been? How're your parents?_"

Jun smiled, "_Oh, I've been good. My parents are doing great too. So, what'd you think? Think I can take you yet?_"

Seiji smirked, "_Is that was this is about? You trying to out do the troopers? Well, you're certainly very good, and I've been out of practice for a long time. So, on a good day, you might stand a chance._" Seiji leaned in and whispered into Jun's ear, "_Just remember, if you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. Oh, and you'll have to deal with four other very angry troopers and a 'vicious' tiger._" A wry smirk on Seiji's face.

Jun swallowed a big gulp of air, giving a nervous laugh, "_Um, yeah, I suppose so. Anyway, I need to be home soon. So, I'll see you around Seiji. Oh, and tell the others I said hi, and that if you guys need any help at all, don't hesitate to ask. I can pull my own weight this time, I promise._" Jun turned and walked off. When he emerged from the locker room, he wore a leather jacket and held a motorcycle helmet. The young man had moved on from skateboards. Well, there was one thing Seiji knew he and the other troopers wouldn't be doing, no matter how good with a sword Jun might be.

(POV Shift)

January 25, 2001 Rye, NY -

Thank god the school day was over. There was no fencing practice this afternoon, so today was one of those very rare days when Sad was going to get to go home right after the bell rung. For most of the fall there was the fall play, that kept him on campus until sometime after 10 pm. In the winters it was fencing, though that ended about 6 or so. Then in the spring it was the Spring One Acts that once again kept him on campus until about 10 pm most nights. So yeah, for one glorious day, he got to go home at 3 pm, and that was today. Now, the question was, what to do with his open afternoon? Mike would probably be busy, and Jason would as well, so would his other friends. He could go to the comic shop, but he'd already been there on Wednesday to pick up the week's newest books. Still Bishop was always good for conversation. Oh, but it was Friday, which meant Warhammer 40,000 games. Shit.

That idea was out. It wasn't that Sad didn't play 40k, he did actually. It was just that Bishop would expect him to show up with his army, and getting out of the house for four hours at a time, that was a challenge. His parents were a bit odd and Sad kind of knew that him going to play 40k for four hours would not go over well. They'd want him at the house, available to them at a moment's notice, even if they never asked him to do anything. So, really, the only option left was to go home, hang out in the basement, watch TV and go on AOL. Maybe there'd be some good chat room RP going on, though that wouldn't really start up until around 6 or so. Hmm, cartoons it was then.

He stepped out of the Pinkham building, black LL Bean backpack, with his initials SSS on it, on one shoulder and made his way up to the Junior lot. Although that term was a bit too high class for the mud pit it really was. As he made his way up and around the Lower Field he noticed Paul Giomatti and Trish O'Connor making their way across the Upper Field to the Junior "Lot". Trish was fairly attractive, not the most amazingly gorgeous girl Sad had ever seen, but one of the top tier girls at the school. Or so it seemed from a social standing point of view. They disappeared into the "Lot" as Sad crossed the Upper Fields. He was already lost in his own thoughts of exactly what he'd do with his time today. There was simply so much time to be lazy in. What a glorious luxury.

As he approached his car he could hear Paul just beyond it trying to convince Trish to give him some "special" attention. She was repeatedly telling him no, but he continued to insist that she do as he asked. Sad stopped at the trunk of his car and clenched his fists, feet frozen in indecision. Should he keep his nose out of it, or should he not? He knew what the right thing to do was. That was exactly what he was inclined to do. But did he really want that trouble?

"God, Paul, I told you no already. Would you get off of me? I want to go home."

What a stupid question to ask himself. He made his way over to the voices and looked between two cars to see Paul pressing himself up against Trish. He had her pinned to a car, while Trish tried to push him off. Sad shook his head and put on his best cocky smirk. That's what they'd expect from him, and who was he to disappoint? "Didn't you ever learn the meaning of 'no', you ignorant baboon?" God, he was going to get his ass kicked, and he knew it. But that wasn't the important thing here.

Paul looked over to him, rage and lust storming in his dull brown eyes. He made that weird shoulder lunge, meant to tell people to back off. "Why don't you just mind your own business, Sad. This doesn't concern you."

Trish looked at him with confused green eyes. She didn't understand why he was sticking his nose into this. No matter, she didn't need to understand. "Sorry, Paul, I can't really do that." Sad meandered over to the two and leaned against the car, next to them. "So, you guys have a good day at school?"

Paul pushed away from the car and faced Sad, cracking his knuckles and rolling his shoulders. "I thought I told you to get the hell out of here. Or do I need to make you leave."

Sad stared flatly at Paul. He knew his face wasn't showing any fear, but god, this was such a stupid thing to do. He pushed away from the car and chuckled before giving Paul a smirk. "Make me leave? You really sure you want to do that? Sounds like a bad idea to me."

Bam! Sad's face slammed to the side as a dull ache settled into his jaw. Paul was sure that he wanted to make Sad leave, apparently. Sad put a hand to his jaw before turning his head and giving Paul a level gaze. "That all you got? I'm not really impressed."

Paul stepped towards him and slammed a fist into his gut. With an "Oof" Sad doubled over. He straightened, his arms across his stomach. He quickly dropped them to the side. He took a step back, goading Paul. "Oh, come on, a big bad tough guy like you. You gotta be able to do better than that."

Paul lunged at him; once more the blow went to his jaw, the other side this time. Sad ended up jarred against the car next to him. He pushed himself away from the car wiping his arm across his mouth. His sleeve absorbed something. Sad chuckled as he continued to back away from Paul. He needed to get him out onto the Upper Field. Not that it would help Sad fight any better, it just meant a teacher might see the fight. "God, and here the whole school thinks you're this big bad bruiser with mafia connections, and you can't even take me out? How sad."

Paul growled, "I'll show you sad." He charged. Sad avoided it, not a hard feat.

Sad laughed making his way to the Upper Field, luring Paul along. "Show me sad? What are you going to do, hold a mirror to my face? God, you're pathetic."

Paul screamed before coming at him again. This time Sad wasn't sure he could get out of the way.

(POV Shift)

He ran a hand through his brown hair as he sat at his desk looking over physics homework. He was going over the homework from his Honors Physics class. The current paper handed in by Sadlier Smith. He was a bright young man, he'd do well. His office was on the top floor of the Pinkham building, on the side closest to the Upper Fields. He leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together as his stretched his arms out above his head. His name was John Baker, he taught Physics, and he loved his job. His moment of peace was shattered by screams from the Upper Fields. He shot up and looked out the window to see what was going on.

He saw three students on the Upper Field, two males, and one female. One of the males was on his knees in front of the other, his far arm hanging limp at his side, part of it twisted at an odd angle. That must be why he had heard the scream. It took him a moment to realize the kneeling student was Sadlier Smith. The other boy was Paul Giomatti and the girl was Patricia O'Connor. An unlikely trio if he'd ever seen one, mostly because Sad was involved. Just then Paul took a swing at Sad, knocking him to the ground. He needed to do something.

He flew out of his office. He needed to find Peter Bear, Sad's Advisor. John burst into the teacher's lounge, eyes searching for Peter. Upon finding his quarry, John spoke in a rush. "Peter, one of your advise-es is in a fight. No, that's not quite right, he's getting his ass beat."

Peter's head snapped around, he locked eyes with John, "Which one?"

"Sad."

Every teacher in the room stood to face John, in shock. "Peter, Paul Giomatti is kicking his ass."

Peter stood and made his way towards the door, "Where are they?"

"Upper Fields." John followed Peter out, as did every other teacher in the lounge. John was in enough of a daze to notice that Robert Edminson didn't follow everyone else. How strange. They had to hurry, Sad needed help.

(POV Shift)

It didn't make any sense; she just couldn't figure it out. _Why the hell is Sad sticking his nose into this? Why is he helping me? He's never shown any interest in anyone before, why now?_ Sad screamed and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, it was obvious that Paul had broken Sad's arm. Sad was on his knees in front of Paul. His face was so full of pain. _Why is he doing this?_ At first she had thought it was because he knew he could kick Paul's ass. He had acted so confident. But he never threw a punch, never fought back. Oh, sure he had taken a few good hits and brushed them aside, but he had never given any indication of even attempting to fight back. She suddenly had a feeling that Sad couldn't fight back. But if he couldn't fight, why had he gotten involved?

She had to do something. She rushed Paul, wrapping her arms around his waist, trying to pull him away from Sad. She didn't weigh enough to give Paul pause. He grunted and peeled her arms off. She wrapped her arms around his right arm, tucking it under her shoulder, pulling on it. He snapped his arm free, and backhanded her. She pirouetted a few times before landing in a heap on her knees a few yards away. Her lower lip was split. She chose to bury her face in her hands.

Paul scoffed at her, rolled his right shoulder and turned back to Sad, "So, who's pathetic now, huh, you weak sack of crap?" Paul cracked his knuckles.

Sad smirked, his lower lip bleeding. His right arm raised to his mouth to wipe away the blood trickling down his chin. His left arm hung limp at his side, the back of the forearm bent at a sickening angle. The right leg of his jeans darkening with blood. "Well, it sure as hell ain't me. I'm not the one who'll be charged with attempted rape and assault. Have fun being butt raped by a large inmate."

Crack! Paul's fist impacted with the side of Sad's head, right near the eye. It was a hook, so it didn't break his glasses, although it did send them flying off of Sad's cranium. As for Sad, he crashed into the ground. A wince crossed his face before another smirk split his lips. _How can he keep doing this?_ "Oh, I won't take pity on men of your kind, even though you'll soon take it, in the behind."

"Oh, why you..." Paul's leg pulled back and slammed into Sad's stomach. Sad curled around the leg, his face contorting in pain. Another scream ripped its way out of his soul. Something wet trickled down Trish's face. She heard another snap come from Sad's body when the kick landed. She closed her eyes, she couldn't watch this anymore. "...I'm going to find a way to make it so you don't make any more comments like that, you sad sack of crap. I think I'll cut out your tongue, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it."

She heard the click of a locking knife blade popping into place. Oh, god, what was going to happen? What could she do? Paul's voice broke through her self imposed darkness, "What the hell?"

"You even try to do that, and you'll be breathing through a tube for the rest of your life." That was Mr. Edminson's voice!

"And none of us will raise a hand to stop him." And that was Mr. Bear!

Trish opened her eyes. Mr. Edminson had his arms under Paul's, and wrapped behind his neck, pulling him away from Sad. Paul's knife gleamed in the sunlight on the ground. Mr. Bear knelt down by Sad. There were fifteen other teachers around, including Mr. Baker, and the headmaster. Mrs. Reprieve, an English teacher came over and asked her what had happened. In a quavering voice, she answered, loud enough so everyone could hear.

Sad turned his head slightly and smirked up at Mr. Bear, "I did good, didn't I, Panda?"

Mr. Bear smiled down at Sad and patted him on the shoulder, "Yes, you did."

A siren filled the air, and Trish's head snapped to the side, an ambulance raced onto the field, a police car right behind it. She heard noise coming from the Pinkham building. The majority of the student body was heading up, thanks to the sound of the siren. The paramedics put Sad on a stretcher. Mr. Bear climbed into the ambulance with Sad. Paul was cuffed and thrown into the back of the police car. That caused a lot of whispers from the student body.

The Headmaster turned to the gathered students and did his best to disperse them. Trish watched the ambulance speed off. Sad was probably going up the block to United, it was the closest hospital. Trish started for her car. Mrs. Reprieve stopped her, "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Trish nodded in response. She was going to United herself, she needed answers.

(Time Skip)

Two hours passed before anyone was allowed to see Sad. His parents had yet to show up. Apparently his mother was in the city for some event, and his father was still at work, but they were on their way. Mr. Bear had left a while ago, allowing Trish the chance at a private conversation with Sad. She stopped in the doorway of his room, taking in his condition. He had a black eye, his left arm was in a cast, as was his right leg, she also knew that two of his ribs were broken. She stared at him, confused. Sad looked out the window, before picking up the television remote to channel surf. Trish stepped into the room, clearing her throat.

Sad's head snapped to the side, his blue eyes focusing on her. He raised an eyebrow, "Mr. Bear told me you were waiting outside. I was wondering when you were going to come in. So, what can I do for you?" He leaned back in his bed, turning off the TV. He put his right hand behind his head.

Trish floundered for the proper words, not finding them, she blurted out, "I don't understand."

Sad arched his eyebrow again, a smirk settling naturally on his lips. "You don't understand what? I imagine there is quite a lot that falls into that category. Granted that can be said of anyone, even me."

Trish shook the dullness from her head before locking green eyes on Sad's blue orbs. "Why did you help me?"

Sad nodded his head, "Ah, that. Because." He turned to look out the window.

Trish's eyes narrowed, anger rising in her voice, "What kind of an answer is that? Why the hell did you help me? It's not like you at all. And don't give me that because crap. I want a real answer."

Still looking out the window, Sad spoke. "Because it was the right thing to do...because I was there...because I could...because I couldn't do anything else, so in the end, just because. That's the best answer I can give you."

"Oh, Sad, thank god you're okay. What happened to you? Mr. Bear tried to explain it, but we really didn't understand."

Trish turned to see the speaker. It was a petite woman with blond hair, somewhere in her fifties, maybe older. She was accompanied by a heavyset, balding man, around the same age. The woman radiated kindness and concern, while the man radiated power. He had a dominating presence to him, despite his age. He scared her.

"Hi Mom and Dad. I'm fine, it was nothing really. Just a bit of a tussle. It's nothing to worry about."

So, these were Sad's parents. Well, that meant there wasn't any place for Trish in the room. She was going to hang around though, to try and get a more satisfying answer out of Sad. She crept out of the room, amidst the sound of a mother fawning over her son, and the feeling of a father looming in silence.

As she left, a young man around her age with long dark brown hair and a goatee entered Sad's room. Sad and his parents greeted the young man warmly. Sad was quite pleased to see him. From what she could gather his name was Mike, he must be a friend of Sad's. That such people existed was a shock. Trish camped out in a nearby chair, pulling out some school work to keep busy.

Ten minutes later, the young man left Sad's room, heading for the elevator. Sad's parents were still in the room. It didn't seem like they'd be leaving any time before the end of visiting hours, not from the way his mother was going on. This kid Mike might be her best chance of getting a decent answer about why Sad had helped her.

"Hey, Mike, wait up!" She rose from her chair, setting her books aside, and chased after Mike. The boy turned to face her. A surprised look crossing his features, but he stopped and waited for her to catch up.

As she came up along side him, he spoke, "So, you're the girl that Sad got his ass kicked over, huh?"

Trish was taken aback by his blunt statement. She nodded, "Yes, I am. So, you're friends with Sad?"

Mike nodded, walking down the hallway. "He always had pretty decent taste. To answer your question, yes, I am friends with Sad. I've known him since elementary school." He canted his head, "Walk with me. I've got a feeling you and I will be having a complicated conversation. I want to sit down." Mike found a waiting room on the floor and sat at a small table.

Trish joined him. This Mike kid, something was off about him. How did he know they were going to have a complicated conversation? Whatever, it didn't matter. She needed answers. "Okay, I want to know why Sad helped me."

Mike chuckled, "Are you serious? Why don't you just ask Sad? Seems like the smartest thing to do, to me."

Trish gave him a flat look, and a sickeningly sweet smile, "I did. His answer was more or less 'because.' That's not a good enough answer. It really doesn't explain why he would do something so out of character. Plus, I don't think his parents will be going anywhere anytime soon. So, I doubt I'll get another chance to ask him."

Mike sighed, before looking at her with sad brown eyes, "You're probably right about his parents. His mom anyway. But geez, you go to school with Sad, and you don't know him at all, do you?"

Trish paused, what did this have to do with why Sad helped her? "No, I guess I don't. Though, no one at our school really knows Sad. I think that's the way he wants it."

Mike nodded, "Most likely. Alright, first of all, what Sad did wasn't out of character for him, in the least. It just seemed that way because you don't know him. You don't know him, because Sad doesn't want you to know him." Mike's hand fluttered back and forth, like he was weighing what to say next, "See, back in elementary school, Sad was teased a lot. And I do mean a lot. He kind of learned to close himself off from everyone to protect himself from that." He tipped his thumb towards her, fingers curling around his upraised palm, "As a result, he really doesn't trust anyone. He won't reveal anything about himself, because doing so might give people ammunition with which to tease him. You understand so far?"

"I get it, but what does this have to do with my question?"

Mike smirked, "I'm getting to that. See, Sad doesn't let any of you in. You all probably think he's the kid that would pull a Columbine, right?"

Trish gave him an incredulous stare, "Well, duh. That's exactly the kind of kid he is."

Mike shook his head, "You couldn't be more wrong. Sad would never ever do anything like that."

She scoffed, "That's not what he was saying two years ago."

Mike glared at her, "Look, I think I know my friend, alright. That sort of thing? It's not in his nature. Sad is a very moral person." He balled his fist, tapping it against the table, "He is, whatever you think of him, that's the truth." Mike shrugged, "Also, he reads a lot of comic books. And from the heroes in those books, he has formed his ideas of how a person should act. He does his best to live like that."

Mike spread out his hands, palms raised, "So, when that kid at your school wasn't listening to you tell him, 'No,' Sad was thinking, what would any super hero do in this situation? The answer is, of course, simple. They'd try and help you, even if it meant getting their ass kicked, because the cost doesn't matter. Doing the right thing does." Mike pointed at her, thumb and index finger touching, his other three fingers raised into the air, "Sad knew he had to do the right thing, because that's just the way he is. He's a good, caring person, despite what your impressions of him might be."

Mike's hand cut horizontally through the air, "For him, sticking his nose in to stop that kid from possibly raping you was the only thing he could do." He shrugged dismissively, "Oh, sure, he could have walked away, but he would have hated himself for it for the rest of his life. So, really, that wasn't an option." His hands flared out to the sides, palms towards the table, "There's a bit more to it than that, but that's the gist of it. And in the end, it sort of does just boil down to because. So, does that answer your question?"

Trish sat there processing everything Mike told her. _So Sad's answer was the truth. Just a very abbreviated version of it. Weird._ "Yeah, that answers my question. Thanks. From what you're saying, Sad is a completely different person than the one I know. I'm not sure I buy that."

Mike nodded, "Trust me, he is what I just said. He's probably one of the best friends you could ever make. The issue, though, is getting him to trust you. If he doesn't, he'll never let you in. Then you'll never see what he's really like."

Trish nodded absently.

"Anyway, I need to go. It was nice meeting you..." Mike stood, offering her his hand.

"Oh, I'm Trish O'Connor." She shook his hand.

"I'm Mike Stunt. Have a good evening. Oh, and don't tell Sad what I told you. It wouldn't really go over well. He doesn't like letting just anybody in. And I did sort of just let you in, so to speak, without him even knowing. That's not exactly something he'll be thrilled about." Mike turned and walked towards the elevator. He turned around and walked backwards, calling out, "If you are going to try to be his friend, I suggest you approach him alone. If you're with other people, he'll think it's a gag at his expense, and he won't even give you a chance." With that, Mike turned and vanished from sight.

Trish sat back in her chair. So, it wasn't that Sad had acted out of character, it was that she hadn't known his character. Apparently, that was what Sad wanted. How very odd. Almost like he was two people. She shook her head, and giggled. She was thinking like a crazy person. Sad couldn't possibly be the person her ancestors meant her to give the orbs to. There was no way.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

Thanks for reading.

-Corlock Striker


	3. Chapter 3: Broken

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. Just don't expect any answers as to what exactly is going on, until around chapter six. At the earliest. You'll notice in the story that I use (POV Shift) and (Time Skip) to signal such things. This is due to this site not allowing me to make use of the publishing industry standard of a line with three asterisks to signal a change in POV and a skipped line to signal a time skip. I put those things in, and it takes them out. So, I had to resort to the above, instead of following standard practice within the publishing industry. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

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Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Three: Broken  
By Corlock Striker

January 25, 2001 Rye, NY -

Black faded, twisted, and morphed into brilliant color. There was Sad, only there were two of him. One stood there with shoulders drooped, a defeated, frustrated look upon his face. That was the Sad she saw in school every day. The other stood tall, in a heroic pose, a broad and confidant smile upon his face. This must be the Sad that had helped her today. The one Mike claimed to know, the "real" Sad. She began to circle the two figures, inspecting them. The first one wore baggy clothing that seemed to have seen better days, what Sad wore to school every day. The second one wore well fitting clothes, and was surprisingly trim. He was rather handsome. If only Sad really did look like this. There was one question that kept nagging her though. Which of these two was the real Sad? He always looked like the first one to her eyes, even when he was standing up to Paul. But his friend, who claimed to know him so well, said that the second one was who he truly was. Which one was real, and which one the facade?

She kept staring at the two, trying to find the one detail that would answer her question once and for all. Then she noticed the eyes. They both had the same shade of slate blue eyes, yet they were different. The first one's eyes seemed to be those of a confused and sad little boy who had lost his way, and was desperately trying to find it once again. She felt sorry for this Sad. The second one's eyes though, they were confidant, full of purpose, and burning brightly with an unconquerable will. They were striking eyes, and terrifying in their own way, should you ever stand in the way of what this man wanted. And yet in both eyes she saw great kindness and empathy. The first figure's eyes made her want to keep him safe from those that would harm him. The second figure's eyes gave her a feeling of safety and comfort. This man would shield her from any storm. There was something about the two sets of eyes. They were the key.

Her mind drifted back of its own accord. Back over all the times she had seen Sad around school. For the most part he had always looked like the first figure, and so her inclination was to think that Mike was full of crap. He didn't know who Sad was. Sad was exactly who she thought he was. Then her mind latched on to Sad's confrontation with Evan. The scene replayed itself. Only it came to a stop just as Sad was turning away from Evan. She hadn't realized she had seen this. She must not have registered it, but he was staring right at her, or perhaps through her. With the luxury of this freeze frame image she began to carefully inspect Sad. His shoulders were squared, much like the second figure's, and he seemed full of the same intimidating presence she had sensed in his father. In fact, she could almost see a figure of the man she had momentarily glimpsed in the hospital room in Sad. Then she focused in on the eyes. She couldn't believe it.

Before she had time to react, the scene shifted. This time the freeze frame was of Sad leaning against her car in the parking lot, as Paul pinned her against it. Once more his shoulders were squared. There seemed to be a confident air about him. Her attention darted up to his eyes. There they were. Just like when he had confronted Evan. The second figure's eyes. It was crazy, but she thought it must be true. It was the only possible explanation. Both of these figures were Sad, "How can he be both of them?"

"Maybe I can help with that." Who the hell was that? Why did the voice seem vaguely familiar?

She whipped around to confront this intruder. As she did, her surroundings morphed. The scene of Sad leaning against the car faded, and was replaced by an endless expanse of white. What was this cliche all about? Her head rotated wildly, searching for the source of the voice. Abruptly she spotted it. It was that kid Mike from earlier. Only he was dressed all in white. Dear lord, was she going crazy or did he look eerily Christ-like? It wasn't just the white clothing, it was his facial features too. How had she not noticed that before?

Mike smirked, "I told you, Sad was teased a lot in Elementary school. Watch."

The two Sads were there again, only this time they were little children. The two seemed to merge together, and for the moment only the second figure stood before her. A group of faceless children formed a semi-circle around Sad. They began to point and laugh at him. Before her eyes, his shoulders began to hunch, that defeated look formed on his face, it didn't last long, just a passing phase. Time passed, Sad and the children aged. The phases of the hunched shoulders and defeated look lasted longer and longer. Eventually, that was all she saw. Except not quite. The second figure remained. A ghostly image that stood and moved in concert with the solid image of the first figure she had seen.

It all made perfect sense. Sad wasn't just one of the figures. He was, in fact, both of them. One had been who he was, the other who he became. Who he was still managed to remain. Guess he was stubborn like that. He was two people in one body, and yet still one person in the end. All of the images faded, and darkness filled her mind. Her puzzled mind at peace.

(POV Shift)

March 27, 2001 Odawara, Japan -

"_So, you looking forward to seeing Nast__é__, again Seiji?_" He ran a hand through blue hair, as he asked the question, a teasing tone in his voice. He'd long ago given up wearing a headband. Honestly, what had he been thinking? Even if it was the style of the times, it still looked rather ridiculous. White Blaze gave an amused snort from his sprawled out position in the backseat with his head in Ryo's lap. Ryo echoed the tiger. Seiji's hands clenched around the steering wheel, his only response to the question. He wasn't being very fun, was he? Toma sighed, "_So, you think we'll find anything?_"

Ryo sighed, "_I hope we do. Not that we have much to go on. Still, I'd prefer to know something, rather than nothing. Wouldn't you?_"

"_Yeah, it'd be nice._" The car slowed to a stop as they pulled up in front of Nasté's house. Toma stepped out of the car, stretching his legs as he did. It'd been a long drive. He shut the car door, and heard Seiji do the same. The back door opened, and White Blaze bounded out of the car, followed by Ryo. The tiger rushed off into the woods, obviously, White Blaze was pleased to be in a wooded area, and more importantly out of the car. Toma leaned against the car for a moment, looking over the house. "_Wow, this brings back memories._"

Seiji stood next to him, looking at the house. He kept adjusting the cuffs of his blazer, "_It does._"

The front door to the house swung open, Nasté sweeping out of it, in a long skirt and a simple top. She seemed to be holding herself back from running to greet them, attempting to put on a stately pace. Another car pulled into the driveway. Shu and Shin stepped out of it, Shin had driven. Upon seeing Nasté, Shu let out a rumble of joy and rushed over to her, pulling her into a giant bear hug and spinning around as he lifted her into the air. Seiji stepped forward slightly, half raising an arm in an attempt to stop him, before he realized that Nasté was giggling at the action.

The woman looked at all of them from over Shu's shoulder. Her eyes seemed to rest on Seiji for just a bit longer than the rest of them. That was probably just Toma's mind playing tricks on him. "_It's good to see all of you again. Shu, can you put me down now, please?_"

Shu chuckled and set Nasté down, a hand going behind his head to scratch at it. He hadn't really changed much had he? "_Sorry, about that, I was just so happy to see you._"

"_It's okay, you big lug,_" she replied, swatting playfully at his chest and giving him a peck on the cheek. She walked over to Toma, giving him a brief hug, and a peck on the cheek as well. Seiji got the same, as did Ryo and Shin. "_It's nice to see all of you again. Come on, let's get inside. I made lunch. And I made enough for ten._" Nasté eyed Shu. Everyone laughed making their way inside. It was amazing how little had seemed to change. Toma wondered how long that would last.

(POV Shift)

February 19, 2001 Rye, NY –

The faculty told them that Sad was coming back to school today. They told everyone to leave him alone and return to business as usual. No one was supposed to ask him about what happened. There was going to be a trial, and he wasn't allowed to talk about it. In addition, Sad probably wouldn't want to talk about it, Trish agreed with them on that front. Of course, just because the student body had been told to leave Sad alone, didn't mean they would. Most likely, Sad would be mobbed by students as soon as he walked in, everyone asking him a million questions about what happened.

The majority of the student body had shown up early today, just to catch Sad as he walked in, even Trish. What had gone down between Sad and Paul was a rare event for RCDS, as such the entire student body was enthralled with it. Trish had shown up early more to see how Sad would react to the attention, and because she surprisingly wanted to see him again, than to question him. She had her answers. She had kept them to herself though. She sort of liked being in on such a well kept secret, telling would spoil that. She camped herself at the far end of the hallway on the first floor of the Pinkham building, she had a fairly clear view of the main doors. Probably because the student body didn't want the faculty to realize they were intent on bum rushing Sad the moment he stepped off the stairs.

7:45, House started at 8:00, Sad would be showing up soon. The dull roar of the whispering voices of students passing secrets amongst each other suddenly enveloped the building. Someone must have spotted Sad. Clop, thud, clop, thud. She could hear that sound coming up the main path. Clop, thunk, clop, thunk. She saw Sad's head clear the top of the stairs. The halls started to flood with students. Clop, thunk, clop, thud. He was off the stairs, trying to cross the hall, for the back stairs. His house was on the second floor, in the back of the building. This hallway provided a straight shot to the back stairs, the second floor one didn't. For a moment, she saw Sad clearly. She thought he may have seen her as well, from the slight widening of his eyes. Then she saw them go as wide as possible, as he was swarmed by the student body. Did a grimace cross his face? She couldn't tell, she hadn't gotten a long enough view.

People started asking questions, some farther away, practically shouting them at Sad; most of them asking the same question she had asked him in the hospital. Clop, thud, clop, thud. The crowd started to move with him. Clop, thud, clop, thud. The headmaster came out of his office. He tried to clear the crowd, yelling at students to get to their Houses. No one seemed to listen. Clop, thud, clop, thud. Sad kept making his way across the hallway, she didn't think she heard him speaking to anyone, just silently moving on his crutches. As the crowd approached her, she noticed people staring at her. The dull roar of whispers overtook the building again. The crowd between her and Sad thinned out. Obviously, they wanted to see what would happen between the two of them.

Sad swung his legs forward, left leg landing. He brought his crutches forward and leaning upon them, next to her. He took a deep breath, noticing the small bubble of clear space he finally had. His face seemed blank, he twisted his head to the side, looking at her. He seemed to know why he had been granted this unexpected bubble of personal space as he saw her. He spoke for the first time that morning, she thought, and it was to her, "Walk with me."

That dull roar erupted once more, frantic and shocked. They all wanted to know what this meant, but she knew. Sad just wanted to be able to breath. She stepped away from the wall and stood next to him. Clop, thud, clop, thud. He started towards the back stairs, students clearing out of the way as she and he made slow progress. "So, how're you doing?"

A small smirk tugged at the corners of Sad's lips, "About as well as can be expected, considering this corn on my toe."

Trish looked at him baffled, and Sad tossed his head back and started to laugh. A wince crossed his face and he stopped almost immediately, one arm clutching his ribs. Then they were moving again. They made it to the stairs. Clop, thunk. Sad was up the first one. "You need any help?"

Sad chuckled, another smaller wince. Clop, thunk. The next step. Suddenly his back pack was sliding from his right shoulder. He tried to shrug his shoulder to set it back into place, but it was too late. Trish reached out and grabbed it, before it fell down his crutch. "Thanks."

"I'll carry it for you."

"It's alright, just put it back where it was."

She kept her grip on the bag, even as Sad's right hand let go of the crutch, to try and tug it back onto his shoulder. It didn't budge, and he just let out a sigh. "Fine. Thank you," a slightly defeated tone in his voice. He held his right arm out so she could slide the bag off.

"It's the least I can do."

Clop, thunk, clop, thunk. "Whatever you say." Sad continued to focus on the stairs, taking them one step at a time. Clop, thunk, clop, thunk. They reached the landing, and he made his way around to the next flight. Clop, thunk, clop, thunk. They made it to the top of the stairs. For the moment there were no students lurking about, they had probably realized they had to get to their various Houses, and made their way to them. Sad paused at the top of the stairs, seeming to revel in the solitude.

"I'll meet up with you after House, and walk you to your next class."

Sad's body went rigid, "Why?"

"At least that way, they'll leave you alone a bit."

His reply was a barely audible whisper, "Thank you."

She was fairly certain he was being sincere. She didn't reply, it seemed the best idea. Clop, thud. Sad started on the short distance to his House. Trish walked him in, the eyes of everyone in the room on the two of them. A dumpy looking senior, got up out of his seat and offered it to Sad. Sad nodded in thanks, sitting down. Trish set his bag down on the table. The senior then sort of started shooting dirty looks at everyone in the room, warning them to back off. Sad set his right arm down on the table in front of him, and laid his head on it. Trish went off to her own House. She was probably going to be late.

(Time Skip)

She met up with Sad after House, and walked him to his next class. She walked him to all of his classes, actually. After second period, the faculty caught on to what she was doing and the effect it had on the rest of the student body. They started letting her out of classes early, so she could meet Sad. They also didn't say anything when she showed up to class late. As the day went on, Sad warmed up to her, relaxing a bit. Conversation came easier, he told some jokes, though most of them were only funny to him. During her free periods, her friends tried to get information out of her. They wanted to know what Sad was like, what she and him were talking about, all the normal gossip. Any other time she would have answered their questions, but she suddenly realized that if she shared, Sad would clam up again. Mike had given her some insight into him, and she was starting to understand it. Instead of answering their questions, she changed the topic, or at least tried to.

Finally, the day came to an end. She met up with Sad after his last class, AP Chem. It was in the same room his House was in. She snatched up his backpack, and he just gave a halfhearted defeated sigh. "I took the bus today, considering I can't really drive myself. The stop's just in front of the Field House. It's always the last bus. You don't need to wait."

Trish stopped, and gave Sad an odd look, "Actually, I kinda want to talk with you. Want to walk into town with me?"

"I'd miss my bus."

"I'll give you a ride home."

"Nah, I wouldn't want to trouble you. Already did enough of that today. Thanks, by the way."

"It's no trouble at all." A large grin spread across her face then, "Besides, if you want your bag back, you'll follow me into town." Trish carefully brushed past him, and made her way down the stairs, Sad's backpack in hand.

Sad rolled his eyes, and let out a bit of a frustrated growl, "Fine." Clop, thud, clop, thud, clop, thunk, clop, thunk. He was following after her. She walked to the entrance under the library underpass. Clop, thud, clop, thud. Sad was still following her. She went out the door, the sound of Sad's crutches following her. She waited for him on one of the stone benches under the library.

He stopped next to her, giving her an annoyed glare, "So, where are we going?"

"Well, Sad-sack, you're not going anywhere. Not until we talk."

Sad turned slowly, straightening up. He wasn't leaning on his crutches as much, his shoulders squaring. She watched the transformation, fascinated. Those fierce eyes of his flaring to life. John McCullen came down the stone stairs. He was Trish's ex-boyfriend, and one of Paul's friends. A few other members of that crew followed after John. John was in very good shape, Paul on the other hand, was sort of overweight. John stepped up in front of Sad, staring him down. Sad stared right back, refusing to budge.

"So, I hear you're going to be testifying against Paul. I suggest you watch what you say."

Sad laughed, fighting back a wince, and tossing his head back, before staring right back at John. Sad suddenly closed the distance between them, his nose nearly touching John's. As Sad's eyes burned into John's, John pulled away slightly. There was something terrifying in Sad's eyes. "Paul didn't scare me when he was beating the shit out of me. You think you're going to scare me now? You've got to be fucking kidding me. Get out of my sight, before I kick your ass."

John seemed nervous all of a sudden, "Like you could."

"You'd be surprised. Of course, I doubt I'd have to. There's probably a teacher watching us right now. You really want to get suspended?"

John glared at Sad, before breaking eye contact, and backing away. He and his goons walked off, most likely up to their cars in the Junior Lot. Trish stared at Sad, amazed and confused.

Sad collapsed back onto his crutches, and turned to her, "So, where are we going?"

She shook herself out of her daze, standing, "You'll see." She started walking, taking Sad into town with her. As they walked down past the train station and I-95, she asked him, "Where'd you learn that thing you just did?"

"What thing?"

"This thing." She tried to imitate him as best she could, squaring her shoulders and straightening up to her full height. She turned on her heels, trying to put a fire into her eyes, as she stared into Sad's, leaning into his face so that their noses barely touched. It was like she turned a switch on in him. In reaction, Sad did the exact same thing, leaning into her stare, those blue eyes of his burning with a rage that could destroy someone. She couldn't look away, even though she felt herself shrinking away from that gaze.

Sad broke the eye contact, pulling away, "Oh, you mean eyeball-to-eyeball contact. I learned that from my dad."

"Why'd he teach you that?"

Sad chuckled wincing once more, as he continued to swing his way down the sidewalk. "Uh, it's not so much that he taught me to do that, as he taught me how to react to it. He uses it on me all the time."

"Um, why?"

A slow smirk crossed Sad's lips, "I'm a baaaaaaaaad boy."

Trish laughed, "Yeah, right."

"No, I do do some shit that pisses my parents off though. Just like everyone else. It's just my dad is an ex-captain in the U. S. Army and was a Green Beret. So, he does discipline a little differently. See, back in the army, when he chewed someone out, he used eyeball-to-eyeball contact while yelling at them at the top of his lungs." Sad shook his head, "And the army has a way of teaching you to be intimidating. Add that to the fact that my dad was already a bad ass before he joined the army, and well, it's just sort of a bad combination." He shrugged, "So, yeah, when my dad is pissed at me, and wants to straighten me out, he pulls out the eyeball-to-eyeball contact, and yells at me at the top of his lungs, ala U. S. Army training. I've learned how to stare it down over the years." Sad smirked as he shared the secret, "The trick is that you gotta lean into it, and take it full force. You back away and he'll just keep coming after you." He frowned before resuming, "You sort of have to assert your own existence."

"So, basically, you've faced down a Captain in the Special Forces, screaming at you in anger, with hardly any space between your face and his on a regular basis?"

"Yeah, pretty much. John really doesn't hold a candle to that. Too bad he doesn't realize it."

"I think he does."

Sad gave her a puzzled look, "Huh?"

"I'm pretty sure, you just gave him the same look your father gives you. That's why he backed down."

"Oh, please, I don't have that kind of presence." Sad snorted, wincing, "Oh, god, stop making me laugh. It's excruciating. My ribs."

"Whatever you say."

They turned onto Purchase Street, Sad was silent.

"So, I met your friend Mike the other day. He seems like a nice guy."

"Yeah, he is." Sad sighed as he continued to swing along beside her. "So, you want a real answer to why I helped you, right?"

Trish smiled, "Nah, it's alright, Mike told me. It's just your nature."

Sad shook his head, "Then what is this all about?"

"How was your day?"

Sad shrugged, "Eh, bearable. Mostly thanks to you. It was pretty funny in classes though. I don't think I've ever gotten that much attention from girls."

Trish laughed, "Well, that's because they all know you're a knight in shinning armor now."

Sad gave her a wry grin, "More like a knight in dented armor who can't fight his way out of a paper bag. They'd do better looking for someone else."

Trish nudged him with her elbow, "Yeah, well, I kinda like my knight in the dented armor. He's rather dashing."

"Oh, please, I'm an overweight slob."

"That's just what you want everyone to think. Besides, you lost a lot of weight in the hospital." She gave his a sideways glance, "I noticed you didn't eat much at lunch. You must be starving. Let's get something."

"Um, alright. So, I miss anything interesting while I was out of school?

Trish tapped her chin in thought, and replied with a smirk, "Valentine's Day."

Sad stopped mid swing, "Huh?"

Trish put on an innocent face, "Oh, that's right. We never did stop by your locker today, or the message board. Huh, silly me. Did you notice all those grocery bags by the message board?"

"Yeah, we doing a food drive or something?"

"Nope, those are all your candy grams. The S square got so full, they had to take them down. Your locker door is also plastered with Valentines."

Sad shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably, "Well, that's a first. Glad we avoided both locations then. That's going to be really awkward."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure it's just a phase. I think they'll get over you pretty fast."

Sad responded in mock offense "Gee, thanks. Just completely shatter my ego, why don't you?"

"I think you'll be alright."

"Most likely."

She stopped in front of Hunan Garden. She looked over her shoulder, "Come on, we're eating in here."

Sad looked down the street, avoiding eye contact, "I don't really have the money to cover myself here. How about we try Cosi or Sunrise or something?"

Trish giggled lightly, "Don't worry about it." She walked into the restaurant, holding the door. Reluctantly, he followed.

(POV Shift)

March 27, 2001 Odawara, Japan -

Toma set down his napkin. The rest of the group had already finished, except for Shu. He was still stuffing his face. What a surprise. Ryo looked at Shu before directing his attention to the rest of the Troopers, then on Toma. "_Alright, so we're going to try and do some research. Where do we start?_"

"_Let's start with what we know, and work from there._"

Shu exploded, he had expected it to be Ryo. It seemed Shu was faster on the draw today, "_What we know?! We know jack! How're we supposed to start with what we know, when that's nothing?_"

He shook his head, so did Seiji, Shin, and Ryo, a bit of a surprise there. He sighed, then spoke, "_We have our dream Shu. That's our starting point, and we can figure out a few things from it. That will give us a direction to go in._"

Shu shot an indignant look his way, "_Oh, really, and what can we figure out from that dream? It was a damn dream. It could mean anything._"

Toma rubbed his temples, a slight frustrated tone in his voice, "_The fact that we all had the exact same dream, down to the last detail, and that Kayura and the Mashou did too, means it wasn't just a dream. It was a warning. We need to interpret the warning and decode it. It should tell us something about what we're dealing with. That's the point of warnings._"

Shu blushed, "_Oh._"

Toma sighed and set his hands down on the table, pushing his plate aside, and straightening the table cloth. He wiped his place free of crumbs and stood. A moment later, he returned with a pad and a pen. He looked over the troopers, "_Alright, let's go over the dream one last time. I want the details fresh in everyone's minds before we try searching for meanings in it. Also, Nast__é__ isn't familiar with it, and she needs to be, if she's going to be helping us. And we are going to need her help in our research, we all know that._"

"_It starts off with Arago,_" Shin started slowly, in a quiet voice. Shu stopped eating, watching his friend. Shin shuddered, "_Then he turns into a viking longboat. That longboat begins to multiply, and I see the whole world, covered by thoem. They start moving, coming together, taking shape. They turn into a giant. He holds the world in his palm, and digs his finger tips into the earth. Everything dies._" Shin paused to catch his breath. "_The scene changes, and I know this is happening before the other one. Fifteen figures stand before me. I know nine of them. There's myself in my armor, and the four of you in yours. The three Mashou and Kayura in theirs._" His eyebrows knit together,"_There are six other figures, in pairs, male and female. One pair has demon wings, another with angel wings, the last look like a normal man and woman. All six were blurry. The male with demon wings fills my sight._" Another breath,"_The scene changes again, and all fifteen of the figures stand in a circle. They blend together to become a giant green dragon. It lunges for the man made of viking longboats, everything goes dark. Then I see a clear image of the Staff of the Ancients. That's the end of it._"

They all nodded. Toma finished taking notes a little after Shin. Nasté looking at Shin with worried eyes. Toma broke the silence, "_So, we all agree that was the same exact dream we each had?_" Once more everyone nodded, Nasté looked at each of them now, concern plain in her eyes. "_Good, then let's get down to it._"

Toma set his notepad down and looked at the rest of the Troopers, "_Well, the start is easy enough, yes? Arago has something to do with this._"

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"_Yeah, that tells us so much about the new threat, doesn't it? It's the next part that gives us something to go on though. He becomes a viking longboat. Means this new attack has its roots somewhere in Norse culture. So, when doing our research, we need to look for anything that relates to that. And whatever it is that Arago's found, it has the power to destroy all life on earth. Not that that's really all that much different from before, but still._"

Ryo stared flatly at Toma, "_We get it. Now, what are some good subjects and keywords to use when doing our search for information related to Norse culture?_"

"_Well, Norse, of course. Viking, longboat, probably the names of some of the more important Norse gods and mythological figures..._"

Seiji chimed in, "_Such as?_"

Toma shook himself out of his daze, "_Hmm? Oh, right. Odin, Thor, Loki, Balder, Sif, Heimdallr, Hel, Frigg, Fenrir, Tyr. Um, maybe the World Serpent, given some of the imagery. That's about all I can think of from that pantheon._"

Ryo nodded, "_Anything else you've figured out for us, Toma?_"

Toma scratched his head, still thinking about the Norse gods, and if he forgot anything, "_Oh, also try Valhalla, Asgard, and Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. Oh, yeah, I'm guessing there are six more armors._"

Shu looked at him incredulously, "_What?_"

Seiji gave him a curious look, "_Why do you say that?_"

"_Well, the fifteen figures. There were nine armor bearers in that group. Then there's the other six figures. Additionally, all fifteen figures joined together to form something else. Sort of like we do when we make Inferno. If they can join with us, in that sense, then they've got to be armors. And there's six of them, so that makes six new armors._"

Shin asked, "_But what are they armors of?_"

"_I don't know, we'll have to figure that out. We need to find those armors and their potential bearers before Arago does. I think particularly the male demon winged armor bearer. Our dream singled him out. He's probably important._" Toma shrugged,"_Search for the fifteen armors, additional armors, something like that. Try Kaos, he had to have had a hand in making them, and there's the image of the staff at the end of the dream too._" He tossed his hand to the side,"_Also, Arago, maybe there's a clue to them somewhere in his past. Run searches on demons, angels, humans, man, woman, women, men, dragon, dragons, armor, and armors, maybe, I don't know._"Toma frowned, thinking, _"I think that's about it for the dream and what it can tell us. Anybody else?_"

Everyone shook their heads. Toma clapped his hands together, looking over his friends, "_Good, shall we get started then?_" He looked to Ryo.

Ryo nodded, "_Yeah, let's._"

They all stood, Shu gathering up the dishes. He had offered to wash them before they made the trip up. As he had put it, he wasn't that good at research. Instead, he'd free everybody else up. Toma and the rest followed Nasté to her grandfather's collection. Nasté looking over her shoulder at Shu, surprised that he was doing the dishes, most likely. Toma rubbed his hands together, it was time to get to work.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

Thanks for reading.

-Corlock Striker


	4. Chapter 4: Sage

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. Just don't expect any answers as to what exactly is going on, until around chapter six. At the earliest. You'll notice in the story that I use (POV Shift) and (Time Skip) to signal such things. This is due to this site not allowing me to make use of the publishing industry standard of a line with three asterisks to signal a change in POV and a skipped line to signal a time skip. I put those things in, and it takes them out. So, I had to resort to the above, instead of following standard practice within the publishing industry. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Four: Sage  
By Corlock Striker

March 24, 2001 New York, NY -

Twitch. Boom! Jerk. Crack! _Fuck! Ow! _She stumbled out of bed, rubbing her head that she just cracked against the wall, and walking lightly on one foot that she slammed into the wall before that. Bleary eyes glanced about her shit hole of an apartment. It was littered with empty beer and liquor bottles. Limping, she went into the bathroom. God, she had such a headache. She _loathed_ mornings. She rubbed her hands over her face, trying to scrub the sleep off. And into the bathroom door she crashed. "Fuck!" She stumbled back, falling on her ass, glass clinking as it rolled away from her point of impact. Thank her ancestors none of them had broken.

_Hurry! Hurry! You are needed! It is almost upon us! Hurry! And stop that drinking!_

Sitting on the ground she let out a howl and covered her ears. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone? Soon the voices stopped, and she stumbled to her feet swaying upon them. Opening the door, she slipped into the bathroom, and a hot shower. An hour later, she stumbled out of her apartment. She blinked painfully at the sun, covering her eye, as she fumbled with her overlarge sunglasses. She needed something to eat. Squinting and keeping her head down, she walked unsteadily in her knee high, high heeled boots to a local diner. Thank the ancestors even Manhattan had them. Walking groggily inside, she nodded to the greeter, and was seated in a booth towards the back, away from any windows.

She leaned her head back against the cushion of the booth, removing her sunglasses. Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift. A waitress came over, "So, Jess, what'll you have?"

She opened a single black eye, "Hey Lily, I'll have a ham and cheese omelet, with a side of pancakes with the fresh fruit topping. And coffee, black. Keep it coming."

Lily scribbled down the shorthand of Jess's ordered, and looked at her, "Hon, ya gotta stop with the drinking. It ain't good for ya."

Jess groaned, "Just get me my food, please. I've got too big a headache for a lecture."

Lily turned, looking over her shoulder at Jess, before slipping into the kitchen.

_He comes! You must hurry! He comes!_

Jess growled under her breath, _Shut up! Just shut the hell up! _She banged her head against the cushioned back of the booth a few times. A desperate attempt to silence those voices. They'd been bugging her all her life, and they'd been getting worse in the last few days.

Finally, Lily returned with her coffee. Jess stared at it before taking it in hand and draining about half of it. She set the cup down, and leaned her head back again. Why were they so noisy recently? Why couldn't they just leave her the hell alone? Her parents and grandparents insisted they were the voices of her ancestors, that it meant she was destined for great things. She thought it meant she was schizophrenic. The doctors didn't know what she was. She'd tried the medication, it didn't stop them. Alcohol just let her ignore them. That was the best she could hope for, it seemed.

A quick sip of her coffee, and as she set the mug down, Lily returned with her food. Jess looked down at her plate before picking up her fork. With that action she broke her fast. It was delicious, and as she ate, she felt that headache start to fade. The nausea faded as well, what a _surprise_. She stopped to take a breath before she finished the meal, and took another sip of her coffee. Looking at the rest of the omelet and the pancakes, she resumed her attack. Her coffee was finished well before the meal, and promptly refilled. The food was finished along with her forth cup of coffee.

As she finished her fifth cup, her cell phone rang. It was an old fashioned telephone ring, meant it was her grandmother. She reached into her purse, fumbling around for the ringing phone. Managing to find it, she pulled it out, taking a quick glance at the green dragon she used as the photo ID for her grandmother. Her grandmother had this great jade statue of a dragon at her house that Jess had always loved, hence the photo. As the dragon caught her eye, she gasped, a torrent of images assailed her mind. All of them from a dream she suddenly remembered she had last night. There was a weird figure made of wooden boats, holding the world in its palm. Fifteen strange figures, hard to say exactly what they were, though some of them seemed at least remotely human. Those figures turned into a green dragon and attacked the wooden boat figure. Then a weird staff with rings on it, filled her field of vision. That was all the fragments she remembered. The voices went crazy, all of them talking at once, screaming at the top of their lungs.

_You must hurry! He comes! This is the warning! We must find them! He comes! He comes! He comes! Hurry, you drunk fool, hurry!_

Dropping her cell phone, her hands darted up to cover her ears, a grimace passing across her face. The voices faded to a dull roar, and she picked up her phone. It was going to take all her concentration to hear her grandmother over that din in her head. "Hey, grandma, what's up?"

Her grandmother's voice came through over the phone, she was speaking Japanese, and easily broke through the din in her head. Jess heard her clearly, without any effort. How strange. "_You need to come see me immediately. There is much I must tell you, and much you must do._"

_Finally!_

The voices went completely silent. What the hell was going on? Jess stammered, switching to Japanese, "_What? Why? I don't understand._"

"_There is no time for this, young one. Come see me, right now._" With that her grandmother hung up on her, the distinct click echoing in her mind. What the hell was going on? First the increased activity of the voices, then that dream that sent them into an utter panic, and now this phone call that calmed them down? Why couldn't she just have a normal life?

She gathered up her belongings and headed to the front of the diner, to pay her bill. That done, she stepped out onto the street. It looked like she'd be going out to Larchmont today. She better head to Grand Central.

(POV Shift)

March 27, 2001 Odawara, Japan -

They'd been at if for a few hours now, and they hadn't found anything. Nasté had already run the search words Toma had come up with through her grandfather's electronic database. The results were disappointing, to say the least, considering that they didn't seem to exist. She was going through his files now. Toma, Ryo, and Shin were going through the books he owned. Maybe one of those had a connection her grandfather had missed. Seiji was running Google searches to see if they found anything that way. It was all slow work. The words dragon and bridge were nagging at her though. She was certain she'd seen them at one time or another in her grandfather's work. That certainty kept her searching.

She was thumbing through a drawer in one of the filing cabinets that contained her grandfather's research. None of the files seemed relevant. Though there was the file on the armor poem. There wouldn't be anything in that though, would there? The poem was in her grandfather's electronic database. If it had anything on armors other than ones they already knew, or a connection to the search words they were using, it would have come up on her searches through the electronic database, right? Of course it would have. Then again, the poem itself only had vague associations with the five Trooper armors, and never mentioned any of them by name.

That was the only file that had any hard link to the Troopers. It was the best starting point she could think of. Maybe there'd be some note in there that would give them a hint on where else to look. She carefully lifted the file from the drawer and set it down on a table top. Gingerly opening it, she looked over the contents. There were some rather old looking documents, and photographs of additional ones. Could these be different copies of the armor poem. No single document seemed to be fully legible, but they all had more than one verse.

Wait, what? The poem she knew only had one verse, but these had more than that? Were they really copies of the armor poem, as she had assumed? Could she have been wrong? She started rapidly going through the contents of the file, finally reaching the last item in it. There in her grandfather's hand was a transcription of what he had been able to piece together from all the different documents. It was the verse of the armor poem she was familiar with, and there was more. She gasped. She had to tell Toma.

(POV Shift)

April 6, 2001 International Airspace -

She tossed back another cranberry and vodka. She couldn't believe what her grandmother had told her the other day. It wasn't really possible was it? Well, if it wasn't, then what the hell was she doing on a flight to Japan, to find some woman by the name of Nasté Yagyu. Her grandmother had even given her an address. Exactly how her grandmother had obtained all of this information, the woman would not say. Jess had tried every trick she knew to get it out of her. All that resulted in was her receiving a lecture on how she needed to stop drinking. Sometime during that, she had stopped paying attention. The voices were getting harder and harder to ignore.

_Hurry! Hurry! The time draws near!_

She looked at her empty drink and glanced about frantically for the stewardess. She needed another one. She wondered how hard it was going to be to get this Nasté woman to believe her story. Who the hell was this Nasté woman anyway? God, when the hell was she going to be able to get off this plane? Why was this taking so goddamn long? This was such a fools errand. Why had she even bothered? Probably because her grandmother had shoved a plane ticket into her hand, and driven her to the airport. The woman was impossible. Well, maybe she'd get to see some of Japan. Wouldn't that be nice? Finally, she spotted the stewardess; this was going to be an expensive flight. Good thing she had plenty of cash.

(POV Shift)

March 27, 2001 Odawara, Japan -

She raced down the stairs into the living room, a large grin on her face. At the bottom of the stairs, she paused, scanning the living room for Toma. He was on the couch, a few books spread out on the coffee table, one currently opened in his lap. Ryo and Shin were in the dining room, with a larger selection of books spread across that table. Nasté ran over to Toma, giggling uncontrollably.

He looked up as she approached, blue eyebrows rising quizzically. He put a scrap of paper into the book he was reading and shut it, setting it down on the coffee table. He spoke, "_You found something didn't you?_"

Still giggling, she could only nod.

He stood, a relieved sigh escaping his lips, "_Finally, some good news. Well, let's go see._" Nasté turned, leading him upstairs. They were halfway down the upstairs hallway, when the doorbell rang.

Nasté stopped dead, "_Oh, shit. It's Tuesday afternoon._"

Toma stepped up behind her, confused and concerned, "_What?_"

Nasté turned around, racing back towards the stairs, she had to get the door. She could hear Toma chasing after her. This was going to get messy. Oh, dear. As she was running down the stairs, she saw Shu reaching for the doorknob. _Oh no, oh no, oh no._

Shu pulled open the door, as he did, the voice of a young man broke the silence in the house, "_Hey, Nast__é__, just coming by to say, 'Hi.'_" The sentence dropped off, as a shriek filled the air, a happy one, but still a shriek. "_Shu? What the hell are you doing here? It's been forever!_"

Shu grunted as the body of a young man slammed into his, wrapping him in a hug. Shu's head whipping around wildly, the Trooper flabbergasted.

Nasté raced over to the doorway, trying to talk in a hushed whisper, "_Hey Jun. Look, right now really isn't a good time. Why don't you come back later?_"

Shu's eyes widened as he realized the boy hugging him was Jun. As she spoke, Jun let go of Shu, looking at Nasté strangely, his eyes of darting past her, and a smile lighting up his face. He must have spotted Toma. Oh, this was spinning out of control far too fast. "_Toma! How're you doing? It's been forever!_"

Toma stared at the boy, as did Shu, neither of them knowing what to do now. She knew they wanted to get him out of here. That wasn't going to be possible, at least not for a while. Jun was standing on his tip toes, craning his neck to look around the rest of her house; obviously, seeing if there were anymore surprises in store. Judging by the look in his eyes, there were.

"_Holy shit! Ryo, Shin, wow! It's been ages! How're the two of you?_" Jun was yelling now.

Ryo and Shin must have poked their heads out of the dining room to see what all the noise was about. She saw Toma turning around to face the other two. She hoped he was going to tell them who this boy was. She heard footsteps on the stairs. That would be Seiji. They'd never be able to get rid of the boy now.

A hushed tone took over Jun's voice, "_Oh, my god. Seiji too? What the hell is going on? Something's up. I want to help._"

She had to cover her ears as a deafening roar broke through the house from all five Troopers in unison, "_NO!_"

Nasté smiled weakly at Jun, "_Look, Jun. Now, really isn't the best time. I really think it best you just go home._"

Jun threw his motorcycle helmet down, setting his shoulders, "_Hell no. I'm not going anywhere. Something is going down, and I want in. There's no way I'm leaving._"

Ryo stepped forward, "_Jun, nothing's going on. I promise. Please, this really isn't the best time. It would really be best if you went home._"

"_Goddammit, stop trying to protect me. I can help this time, I swear. I can handle myself. Seiji knows. He saw me the other night. Isn't that right, Seiji?_"

Seiji sighed, "_I'll admit you're good, Jun._"

Jun pointed at Seiji, challenging them all now, "_See, I can handle myself. There's nothing to worry about. Now, let me help._"

Seiji clenched his fists, and barked, "_I said that I would admit you're good. But I was going to say more. You may be good, Jun, but you're not ready for a real fight. And this has nothing to do with you. Just go home. You're a nuisance, you'll only get in the way. Just like you always did._"

Jun stared at Seiji in disbelief, "_I was always afraid that's what you guys really thought of me. At least now I know the truth. No more pretending to be friends, right?_" There was venom in Jun's voice now, and pain. "_Well, you all can go screw yourselves. I don't want anything to do with you anyway. Wouldn't want to get in the way after all._" He bent down to pick up his helmet and turned around, to walk out the door. He paused, probably expecting someone to say something. None of the Troopers did, every one of them was staring at the floor, or anywhere else.

Nasté spoke finally, in a soft voice, "_Jun..._"

He jammed his helmet on and stormed out the door, slamming it shut. A moment later the roar of his motorcycle racing down the street filled the air. Nasté turned around to look at the Troopers; each one of them was already walking off, even Toma. So much for sharing her discovery. She guessed it would just have to wait. They each needed to be alone for a bit.

(POV Shift)

April 7, 2001 Narita International Airport -

She stepped out into the sunlight outside her hotel. Large sunglasses already over her eyes, she swaying upon her feet as she walked. A bag from a duty free shop in one hand, with a rather large object inside it. She raised an arm to hail a cab, stumbling over to the one that pulled up. Falling into the back seat, she handed the driver a slip of paper, "_Take me there._" Her words were slightly slurred, but she thought still understandable. Of course, the paper with the address on it would help.

_They'll not believe you, you fool. You should have stopped that drinking! You must make them listen. There is no time!_

The driver looked at her incredulously for a moment, then spoke over his shoulder, "_If you want to go to Odawara, it'd be cheaper to take the train. You sure you want me to take you there?_"

Lowering her sunglasses to give the man a withering stare, she asked in a sweetly sarcastic tone, "_Do I look like I'm in any condition to figure out how to get someplace I've never been, on the public transportation system of a country I've never visited before? Just drive._"

The driver shook his head, and muttered something under his breath as Jess produced a bottle of vodka from the duty free bag. She gave him a sickeningly sweet smile, opened the bottle and proceeded to drain it. From the fact that he had told her it would be an expensive trip, she knew she was in for a long ride. That meant the voices would have plenty of time to bother her. She was going to need all the help she could get. She gave the bottle a reassuring pat, staring out the window to watch the scenery pass by.

(POV Shift)

April 7, 2001 Odawara, Japan -

After Jun had showed up the last time they got together, they had all shortly gone their separate ways. There just wasn't anything she could do. They hadn't felt like doing any more research. It wasn't until today that they had finally all agreed it was time to get back to work. So, here they were sitting around her dining room table. She had a folder next to her, the troopers had been staring at it all through lunch. Now that they were finished, Nasté picked it up. Curiosity gleamed in five sets of eyes.

She cleared her throat, it was rather unnecessary. As soon as she had picked up that folder, all their attention had been focused upon her, "_Last time you were here, I found this just before a certain incident. I didn't get a chance to share it with you. I've been waiting until now to do so._" The doorbell rang. Nasté looked up surprised, she wasn't expecting anyone. She sighed, "_I'll be right back. Why don't you take a look at this in the mean time._" She opened the folder and set it down in the middle of the table. Shin was the first to pick it up.

She walked to the front door and opened it. There was a Japanese girl on the other side, with a mostly empty bottle of vodka in one hand. She swayed heavily upon her feet, large sunglasses hiding her eyes. She reeked of alcohol. Nasté probably would have made note that she was a rather attractive girl; if it hadn't been for the bottle in her hand and the stench of alcohol drifting from her. Slightly masked disgust in her voice, she asked, "_Is there something I can help you with?_"

The girl's words came out in slurred Japanese, "_Are you Yagyu Nast__é__? I have to speak with you regarding something very important._"

Nasté nearly snarled at the girl, "_Yes, that is who I am. How did you get my name and address?_" Nasté shook her head, reigning herself in, "_Look, now isn't a very good time. For either of us, I imagine. Why don't you come back later._"

The girl placed her hand upon the door, stopping Nasté from closing it, "_I don't have time to wait. I need to speak with you now._"

Nasté fell silent staring the girl down. Shin's voice carried over from the dining room. He was reading the poem,

"_Torch of Spirit, sought through five,  
__Drinking strength from immortal fire,  
__The darkest prison sheds the light,  
__Churning beneath a swirl of salt,  
__Burning within a throne of rock,  
__Floating amongst the eyes of ages,  
__Unmoored in the stream of the sky._

_ Sands...four,  
__...guard...blooms,  
__Eternal snow...  
__...mirage and haze,  
__Rotting...  
__...sea of green._

_ ...Being...six,  
__...House...Dragon,  
__...scarlet...Countess,  
__...Stone Rejected...  
__Resting...Skull,  
__...lily stag,  
__...bridge,  
__...horn..._

_ ...powers,  
__...few..."_

The girl's head perked up, as she leveled her hidden gaze upon Nasté. She spoke once more, "_I came to speak to you about that poem. I know the rest of it...and more._"

Nasté stared at her in disbelief. Could this drunk woman really have the rest of the poem? It seemed too good to be true. But could she afford to send the girl away on the likely chance that she was lying? After all, what if she wasn't? Nasté looked at the other girl once again, before stepping to the side, "_Come in. There are some other people that will want to meet you._"

The girl stumbled into the house dragging a rolling suitcase behind her. A taxi pulled out of the driveway and sped off. It seemed the girl hadn't been sure if she'd be believed, interesting. Then she threw Nasté for another loop, "_Oh, good, so the Troopers are here? All of them?_"

_"Yes, they are all here. They're in the dining room. Just ahead."_ Nasté was in a daze. How had this strange woman found her home, and how did she know about the Troopers?

The odd girl stepped forward, her suitcase following her into the dining room. She stumbled upon entering the room, staggering drunkenly upon her feet. Her hand holding the mostly empty vodka bottle rising to her temple, as though to ward off a sudden pain in her head. Regaining her balance, sort of, she walked on wavering feet to the table and looked over the assembled Troopers. Her eyes still hidden behind her sunglasses.

Nasté noted each of the Trooper's reactions to the woman. Shin's eyes were full of pity for her. Seiji, Shu, and Toma all looked at her with politely restrained disdain. Ryo's reaction was the strangest of all. As the girl had walked in and stumbled, he'd made to get out of his seat to help her and he hadn't taken his eyes off of her since. Nasté couldn't read what was hidden in the gaze of his blue eyes. All she could tell was that he seemed transfixed. Nasté resumed her seat at the table. Smiling weakly at all those assembled, as if in apology.

The girl removed her glasses, she stood at the other end of the table from Nasté. Her eyes were bloodshot. She bowed to all at the table, "_Good afternoon, my name is Katsuke Jessica. I am from America. I have come today to share some information with you that my family has been entrusted with for many generations._" From the sound of her voice, Nasté wasn't sure how much of her story this Jessica believed herself.

The girl turned to Seiji, bowing slightly, "_It is a pleasure to meet you Date Seiji, bearer of Nimbus." _She looked to Shin next, bowing once more, "_And you, Mouri Shin, bearer of Torrent." S_he turned to Shu, another bow, _"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Shu Rei Fang, bearer of Stone._" Those bloodshot eyes were next directed at Toma, bowing once more, "_Good day to you, Hashiba Toma, bearer of Heavens._" Then she looked at Ryo, a small smile playing upon her lips as she bowed to him, "_We are well met, I think, Sanada Ryo, bearer of Wildfire._"

Her greeting had shocked all of the Troopers into silence, as well as Nasté. She knew their names and about the armors. How did she know all of this? Her greeting had a different effect on Ryo. It snapped him out of his trance. He shook his head, looking at the girl with what seemed more clear vision from his blue eyes. He stood and bowed to her, "_Yes, we are well met, Katsuke Jessica. You know a lot that's not common knowledge. What other surprising knowledge do you have for us?"_ Ryo sat again, watching Jessica. Curiosity now shining brightly in his eyes.

Jess smiled, swaying upon her feet. She bent over to her suitcase and removed something from it. Laying the object down upon the table it was revealed to be a scroll. Jess rolled it out, unfurling a rather ancient document, written in beautiful traditional Japanese brush calligraphy. "_This is the full text of the poem you were just reading, Mouri Shin._

_ Torch of Spirit, sought through five,  
__Drinking strength from immortal fire,  
__The darkest prison sheds the light,  
__Churning beneath a swirl of salt,  
__Burning within a throne of rock,  
__Floating amongst the eyes of ages,  
__Unmoored in the stream of the sky._

_ Sands of Time, sought through four,  
__Standing guard over the sacred blooms,  
__Eternal snow cloaked in the longest night,  
__Meditating amid mirage and haze,  
__Rotting away with trees unaged,  
__Sunken beneath a sea of green._

_ Essence of Being, sought through six,  
__Hiding in the House of the Dragon,  
__Bathing in scarlet with the Countess,  
__The Stone Rejected grants absolution,  
__Resting beneath the Place of the Skull,  
__Chasing after the lily stag,  
__Watching o'er the sacred bridge,  
__Fixed in place with horn in hand._

_ The gods gave their powers,  
__Upon these few, all hope rests."_

Once more, this strange American girl had stunned her and the Troopers into silence. Where had she learned all of this from? Why did she have knowledge that Nasté's grandfather had been barely able to find? What was going on? The doorbell rang once more. Who could it be this time? The Troopers looked at her in a panic. They were all thinking that it must be Jun. Nasté was going to have to handle him. Jess looked around, bewildered by the reaction to the doorbell. Nasté got up from her seat, "_Excuse me a moment._"

Nasté opened the door, "_Jun, I'm sorry, but I'm..."_ She never finished that statement. Jun wasn't at the door. It was Kayura and Rajura. "_I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was you._"

Kayura waved off Nasté's apology, peering around the house as though searching for a hidden object. Rajura also seemed on edge, as though he was ready to leap into battle. "_There is someone new here. Who is it? Have you found anything yet?"_

Nasté shook her head at Kayura's torrent of questions, "_Yes, we've just had the strangest visitor. I had found that the poem of the armors my grandfather had discovered had more than one verse. Unfortunately, my grandfather never found an intact copy of the full text. Just now an American girl showed up on my doorstep with the full text of the poem. I don't understand what is going on."_

Kayura's eyebrows shot up as Naste told her story, "_Quickly, take me to this girl."_

Nasté was a bit taken aback by Kayura's reaction. Rajura also seemed most eager to meet this girl. He was shifting anxiously from foot to foot. Nasté headed for the dining room, "_She's just in here._"

Nasté quickly got out of the doorway, as Kayura and Rajura seemed about ready to trample her. Jess turned around to see who the new arrivals were. As did the Troopers, the five men standing in unison. Ready to fight the threat that seemed about to pounce upon them, given Nasté's hurried and nervous return. As Kayura stepped into the room, the Troopers visibly relaxed. Both Kayura and Jess went stiff as they made eye contact. The bottle of vodka in Jess's hand dropped, both hands flying to her temples. She squeezed her bloodshot eyes closed, and let out a scream, before her legs went limp.

Ryo's eyes widened at Jess's reaction. He stepped forward to catch her before she fell to the floor. Kayura, on the other hand, raised a single hand to one temple as she staggered back. Rajura placing his hands upon her shoulders to steady her, his single eye tightening. Toma made to walk towards Kayura, raising one arm. Kayura's eyes immediately shot to him, and she waved him away from her, stopping him in his tracks. She shrugged Rajura's hands off and walked to Ryo, who was laying Jess gently down on the floor.

"_This young lady has a very strong connection to the spirit realm. I am amazed she has survived as long as she has. It is most dangerous to be as she is, with no control of her abilities."_ Kayura noticed the mostly empty liquor bottle and nodded in understanding. "_Ah, so, she found a way to dull her senses, at least a little. And perhaps were she not so strongly connected as she is, that would even have worked. I imagine though, her life has been most distressing to this point, and more so recently. She will have to come with me. She needs training. I will give it to her."_

Ryo looked at Kayura oddly, placing a hand upon one of Jess's shoulder, "_Is that truly necessary?"_

Kayura shot Ryo an infuriated look, "_Do you doubt my knowledge of magic, Sanada Ryo? This girl could be a powerful mage, perhaps even a Sage. Given enough time and the proper training. Would you deny her her birthright? Would you doom her to a life of misery hearing voices constantly telling her what to do? Would you doom her to an early death from magic wielded in ignorance? All in one fell swoop? Are you that much of a fool?_"

Ryo removed his hand from Jess's shoulder.

"_I see your temper has been tempered by time. A wise decision. Rajura, if you would? Does anyone know this young lady's name? She and I were never properly introduced."_ Rajura stepped forward and knelt down by Jess. Lifting her off the ground, he stepped off to the side. He was ready to leave, once Kayura was.

It was Shin who answered Kayura's question, _"Katsuke Jessica._"

Kayura's eyes widened, she mumbled under her breath, "_Katsuke? No, that couldn't be possible._" Kayura looked back to the girl in Rajura's arms, "_Could it?"_

Ryo glared at Kayura, _"Would you mind telling the rest of us just what the hell is going on?"_

Kayura turned back to Ryo, almost startled by his renewed intrusion on her private musings, _"As soon as I am sure of that myself, I will be happy to enlighten you. Good day, Naste. Good day, Toma. Good day, Troopers. Rajura?" _With that Kayura made her way out of the house.

The white haired Mashou followed after the Lady Ancient, giving a quick nod of greeting and farewell to each of the Troopers. A wry grin given to Shu as well. Then both Kayura and Rajura were gone, along with Jess.

As soon as they were gone, Shu was the first to gather his wits, "_What the hell was that? What is wrong with you guys? Out of everyone in the world you let Rajura walk off with an innocent girl? Rajura! Are you all as dumb as you think I am?"_

Seiji glared at Shu, hissing, "_Shut up, Shu. Now's not the time."_

"_God, I hate Kayura. She's so infuriating."_ That was all Ryo seemed capable of saying.

"_Oh, give it a goddamn rest Ryo. We all know how you feel about Kayura. It's not news, and we're sick of hearing it."_ Toma snapped before storming out of the room. Ryo quickly followed suit.

Seiji, Shu, Shin and Nasté were left with rather bewildered looks upon their faces. What was going on? Did they even want to know?

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

Thanks for reading.

-Corlock Striker


	5. Chapter 5: Found

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. Just don't expect any answers as to what exactly is going on, until around chapter six. At the earliest. You'll notice in the story that I use (POV Shift) and (Time Skip) to signal such things. This is due to this site not allowing me to make use of the publishing industry standard of a line with three asterisks to signal a change in POV and a skipped line to signal a time skip. I put those things in, and it takes them out. So, I had to resort to the above, instead of following standard practice within the publishing industry. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

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Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Five: Found  
By Corlock Striker

August 1, 2000 Larchmont, NY -

Empty, the room was absolutely empty. She stood in the doorway to what was going to be her room, arms crossed over her chest, jade eyes looking over the barren and dusty expanse. She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her mane of red hair. Much as she hated it, there was no turning back now, California was on the other side of the country. She'd just have to get used to New York. She began to walk around the empty space that would eventually be her bedroom. The movers were going to be arriving soon with the furniture and their other possessions. Right now, she just had to decide where things were going to go.

Her feet left footprints in the dust and she coughed a few times as she walked. She had already decided the bed was going under the window, as to her dresser and the rest of her furniture, she wasn't quite sure yet. Her tour of the room finally brought her to the double doors of the closet, pulling them open she inspected the most important aspect of a girl's bedroom. She looked over the space that was revealed. It seemed Larchmont had one good thing going for it, her closet was bigger now. Too bad it wasn't a walk in.

She continued to appraise the closet, and that's when something caught her eye. It looked like a few of the floorboards were loose. She knelt down, not caring about getting her jeans dirty. Fingers pried at the edges of the suspect floorboards until they came up. A big cloud of dust billowed up, which set Claire into a fit of coughing. Dropping the floorboards to cover her mouth only kicked up a larger dust cloud, making her coughing worse.

When the fit finally passed, she looked down into the hole she had uncovered. It had a musty smell to it, but it didn't seem like there was anything dangerous living down there. She sent her hands plunging into the dark maw. Her hands banged against a hard surface soon after passing the level of the floor. As she felt around the object, she realized it was a wood box, about the size of a cigar box. She was ready to lift it out when her mom called for her.

"Claire! The movers are here, honey! Come on out to the driveway, we need to tell them what goes where. Alright?!"

Releasing the box back into the floor, she replaced the floorboards above it, seeing the contents would have to wait. Standing, she dusted off her jeans, and turned to the door of her room, cupping one hand around her lips as she called back, "Alright mom, I'll be right there!"

She took one last look at her closet and the box it hid before stepping out of the room and heading to the front of the house. It was time to start unpacking. She had to face it now. Larchmont really was going to be home. Still, that didn't mean she had to like it.

(POV Shift)

February 5, 2001 Mamaroneck, NY -

Running a hand through curly brown hair that fell to his shoulders, he stepped out of the library of Mamaroneck High School, or as most students called it, MHS. Brown eyes scanned the halls for a moment, off to his right and up further into the Palmer side of the school, no one there he knew, then straight ahead, for a short distance, until the hall took a sharp left and turned into the overpass connecting the Palmer Building and the Post Building. There were some built in benches at that turn, and some of the more popular kids from his class were goofing off around there. Mike shrugged, they'd leave him alone, and so it wasn't really his concern what they were doing.

He pulled out his cell to double check the time, he didn't like wearing watches. He had about ten minutes until his next class over in the Post Building, well, at least he could take his time. He started towards the built in benches, to take the overpass across. As he got closer to them he noticed a group of girls in the center of the pack talking furiously among themselves. One in particular, Jane Whitticker seemed to be drilling the other girl's about something. One of the girls that Jane was not currently drilling noticed him, and pointed him out to her. Jane's blue eyes locked onto him, and she stalked over to him.

Mike shrugged uncomfortably, he had a feeling he knew what this was about. Jane was his year, so she had been a year behind Sad when they all went to elementary school at Murray Avenue. Thing was, that incident at RCDS with Sad, the news had traveled fast. Rye wasn't that far away from Larchmont and Mamaroneck, and being that some of the kids at MHS had grown up knowing Sad, mostly the ones in the grade above Jane and Mike, since Sad had repeated the seventh grade when he transferred to RCDS, they had been quite interested to hear about it. He didn't think the kids from MHS were as surprised by what Sad had done. They'd known him for longer than the kids at RCDS, and had seen him back before all his walls went up, however, Mike thought they were confused by his motivation, at least from the little he'd gathered. It wasn't exactly a secret that Mike and Sad had been friends back at Murray, though he wasn't sure how many people remembered, and thus far he'd managed to avoid getting questioned about the incident. With Jane stalking over to him it looked like that was about to change.

The girl stopped in front of him, blue eyes glaring at him and trying to hold his gaze. She flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder in an agitated manner, before finally speaking in a clipped tone, "Hi, Mike. I remember back at Murray, you and Sad Smith used to play together all the time during recess. Don't even try to deny it. You were friends with him, wouldn't be surprised if you still are. It's not like Sad had many, he's probably tried to hold on to as many as he could. My guess is, you know him better than anyone else here. Me, I want to know why he helped that girl. All the kids at RCDS think it's totally out of character for him. Me? Not so much. I remember him as being a good kid, tried to scare everyone off, so they'd leave him alone and wouldn't tease him, but he wasn't violent."

Mike studied Jane for a moment, she was a very pretty girl, and Mother Nature had been rather generous to her in certain regards. He quickly trained his eyes back up to Jane's before she noticed his wandering gaze, he started to answer her question. However, there was a certain knowing glimmer in her eyes, and a knowing smirk just barely tugging at the corners of her lips that said she was well aware of his wandering gaze, "What do you mean why did Sad help her? Why wouldn't he help her? Anyone would have tried to help her in that situation." Mike just shrugged, bewildered by her confusion.

Jane threw up her arms, tossing back her head, before glaring right back at Mike, "No, you're wrong. I know guys! Guys only help girls if they think it'll get them something. I take dance classes with some girls from RCDS and I talked to them about the whole thing. As far as they know, Sad doesn't like that girl he helped, but I just know that he has to. He wants into her pants. That's why he helped her, that's got to be it. No guy does that kind of thing out of the goodness of his heart. And I figure you've got to know whether or not he likes that girl that way. So, does he?"

Well, that was a shocker. What kind of experiences had Jane had with guys that she'd have that opinion of them? It was rather insulting to say the least. Couldn't anyone believe that people were actually decent these days? His confusion over her statement must have been showing. He was probably looking at her cross eyed, as she had a confused look on her face now. "To be honest with you Jane, I have no idea whether or not Sad likes Trish like that. He almost never talks about who he likes with anyone. I did meet Trish the other day at the hospital when I was visiting Sad, she is rather pretty. I can't see Sad saying no, if she offered him the opportunity." The light of triumph began to shine in Jane's blue eyes, "However, I can promise you this. Getting into that girl's pants was not Sad's motivation for helping her. That much I do know for certain. That's not the kind of guy Sad is. Might he want into her pants? Yeah, it's possible, but he didn't help her in the hope that that would get him in her pants. Sad helped her because it was the right thing to do, and that's that."

Now Jane was looking at him like he was an alien, "You're lying. There's no way that any guy would do that just because it was the right thing do. It's not possible, not at all. He did it because he wanted in her pants, and that's all there is to it."

Mike shook his head, "I feel sorry for you Jane. Obviously, you've never known any truly decent guys. I think maybe you need to try hanging out with some different guys. The male sex just might surprise you." He looked back down at his cell, he had seven minutes to get to his class, and he wanted to get going. He looked Jane in the eyes once more, "Look, I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I've got class. Perhaps we can pick up this conversation again some other time." And with that, Mike walked around Jane, and across the overpass towards his Italian class.

(POV Shift)

Date Unknown, The Nether Realm -

He was weak, oh so weak. How long had he been locked away in this monolith for, how long had he been separated from his objects of power? Too long in his mind, far, far too long. His shoulders ached, his wrists were shackled together above his head, and his feet didn't reach the ground. Why his arms had yet to dislocate from his shoulders was beyond him, though he was thankful it had yet to happen. Still, his shoulders hurt, but he wouldn't let out a scream, he'd never let them know they were getting to him. Besides he couldn't have been in here all that long, a few weeks, a few months at worst. Well, it wouldn't be much longer, no matter how powerful their spells, these mortals couldn't possibly contain his father for very long. Soon enough, his father would be free, and once that was done, he would be free as well.

His blue orbs narrowed, he could feel someone approaching. It had been so long since they'd last tried to question him. He supposed they thought letting him stew and lose track of time would help to break him. Well, he would show them. Once free he would show his captors all too well why his rage was a thing to be feared. He could feel his objects of power close by, they couldn't be taken too far, else he would die, and his captors didn't seem to want that just yet. What fools! Once he was free and had those in his possession, it'd all be over for them. He closed his eyes waiting for the questions to begin.

That presence approaching, something was off about it. It was familiar, but didn't feel like one of his captors, it was far too powerful for that. His blue orbs snapped open, his father was here for him. He would be free once more! He could feel his father's power flowing through his hammer, and hear the ringing of metal against the stone of his prison. With each blow he was one step closer to freedom. A spider web of light formed before his eyes. Moments later he was blinded by an overabundance of light. Eyes so used to pitch black couldn't handle such a sudden assault.

One final ring, this time of metal against metal, and he fell to the ground, his arms collapsing at his sides, that dull ache in his shoulders began to fade. He looked up towards where he sensed his father was, still unable to see. One of his hands was lifted and fingers were wrapped about the haft of his hammer.

"There you are, son. Take back your hammer and the rest of your possessions. They will help to restore your strength. The centuries have not been kind to you, it seems," the deep rumble of his father's voice filled his head, and sent his mind reeling.

He had been bound for centuries? It wasn't possible, it simply couldn't be. As he spoke, his dry throat caused his voice to crack, "What is the plan now, father?"

"We reassemble our forces, we regain our strength, we take back what was stolen from us, and we crush the humans for forgetting us. Come, son, there is much for us to do and many friends for us to free. Let us be on our way." He sensed his father beginning to move away from him, and he scrambled to his feet and over to his belongings. As he neared them, he felt strength returning to his body, and slowly his vision returned. He couldn't wait to see the humans cower before them. They would learn their lesson for forgetting about them, they would be brought to heel, and then destroyed. The thought made him smile in glee.

(POV Shift)

February 19, 2001 Rye, NY -

She sat across from Sad at a table in Hunan Garden, the Chinese restaurant on Purchase Street in Rye. He'd ordered wanton soup and beef lo mein. Trish had ordered wanton soup and ginger shrimp. She watched him eat for a bit, he was using chop sticks, and trying to maintain proper table manners. Of course, that was a bit of problem when eating noodles. As he set down his chop sticks to drink some of his coke, Trish finally broke the silence, "So, tell me about Sad Smith. Apparently, I've never really known him."

His slate blue eyes, hidden behind his glasses snapped right up to her green orbs, giving her a panicked stare. Sad swallowed some air and shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, "There's not much to tell really. I'm just your typical geek."

Trish giggled, "Well, that really doesn't tell me much at all. I've never known all that many geeks on a personal level. And I wouldn't call you typical at all."

Sad fidgeted in his seat, "Alright, I'll give it a try. What do you want to know about me?"

Trish tapped her chin in thought, head tilting to the side and up, her eyes examining the ceiling as she considered what she wanted to know. She looked to him, "Well, let's start with what you like."

His right hand was lifted to scratch at the back of his head, he looked down at the table in thought. A heartbeat later, he began, "Well, I like comic books, mostly Marvel, don't read much DC. I like anime, eighties cartoon shows, video games, mostly RPGs. Particularly the Final Fantasy series, though I also like Zelda games and I was obsessed with the original Pokemon games when they came out, you know, Red and Blue? Love Chrono Trigger. I also play tabletop war games with miniatures that I paint myself. Although the only tabletop war game I play is Warhammer 40,000, I play an Ulthwé Eldar army. Oh, and I have a small Necron force. I fence, I act, I role play in AOL chat rooms. I like movies and music, mostly into rock of the harder variety. I like toys, Transformers, GI Joes, Gundam model kits, Legos. Umm, I like girls. I think that's about it."

Trish smiled at that last item on his list, Sad giving her a wary look. She didn't know what most of the things he had listed were, but at least she knew he liked girls. That was a start, she watched him carefully, trying to piece together what she knew about him. "Well, good to know you're straight. Yeah, that's about all I got out of that whole list, sorry. I guess I can learn about the other stuff though. That is, if you're willing to teach me."

Sad looked startled, his head cocking slightly to the side as he regarded her quizzically, "Teach you about that stuff? Why?" His head was swiveling from side to side, wide eyes desperately seeking a path of escape.

She gently placed one hand on Sad's, "Shh, it's okay Sad, I'm not trying to trick you or anything, I swear. I just want to get to know you. I'd like to be your friend, if you'll let me."

Sad looked down at her hand on top of his, before staring at her half in suspicion, half in surprise. He took a swallow of air before speaking, "I suppose I could give it a try. What have I got to loose, right?" He gave a nervous little laugh, before taking a hurried gulp of his soda.

(POV Shift)

Date Unknown, Midgard, Exact Location Unknown -

Five powerful figures stood at the base of a rainbow bridge, thought to be nothing more than legend. The lead figure, a man with a beard and a single eye stepped towards the bridge. Kneeling where it met the ground, he stretched out a hand and passed it back and forth a few times, as though searching for something. One of the figures behind the kneeling one began to shift his weight back and forth, nervously.

"Are you sure this is the wisest course, All Father? I mean no disrespect, but isn't this where that cursed Monk will look for us first?" Though the one that spoke was a powerful and intimidating figure, his voice had a nasally and whining quality to it.

One of the other figures spoke, he had reddish blond hair, and his voice boomed like thunder, "Quit your sniveling! Whatever course the All Father chooses is the wisest. Never doubt that."

The kneeling figure spoke, "Thank you son, but we do not need you to defend us. Trust us, the monk is dead, and those that served him and survive know nothing of us. He failed to mention our existence to them. They will not yet be looking for us, let alone another of their number." An evil smirk crossed cracked lips as his outstretched hand finally plunged into the ground. When it emerged, it held a palm sized glass sphere in a navy blue tint. "We told you it would be here." The bearded figure now spoke to the sphere, "Poor, loyal fool. You just couldn't abandon your post could you? Now, once more you will serve us. It seems your days of rebellion have finally come to an end."

The figure stood, "Come, it is time to return to Asgard." With that, the bearded figure stepped out onto the Rainbow Bridge.

(POV Shift)

August 1, 2000 Larchmont, NY -

Claire snapped awake, something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. Green eyes looked around her new room, frantic. She thought she'd heard a scream, but there was no sound of any kind in the house. There was no one else awake. Her eyes were drawn to her closet. There was a strange smoky blue glow coming from the crack under the door.

"What the hell?" She got out of bed and apprehensively approached the closet. Opening the door, and pushing the clothes she had hung up that afternoon aside, she saw that the glow was emanating from the loose floorboards she had discovered this morning. She'd nearly forgotten about the thing in her haste to unpack. Getting down to her knees, she lifted up the floorboards and reached down to pull out the wooden cigar box from before. The smoky blue glow was emanating from it. She opened it to reveal a palm sized glass sphere of the same color as the light that was now filling her room. There was what looked like a Japanese character in the center of the sphere, she couldn't be sure though, she didn't know Japanese. She reached out to touch the sphere, and could have sworn she screamed.

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Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

I'm sorry this chapter took so long to write, and that it's quite short, but I didn't want to get into any of the further details until next chapter. Everything that's happened so far has really been building up to Chapter 6, and I want all the revelations to be in that one. So, this's where we'll end it for now. Chapter 6 is called Origins.

Thanks for reading.

- Corlock Striker


	6. Chapter 6: Origins

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

Those of you who have been following the story for a while might notice a slight change to the numbering of the chapters. I sort of came to the realization that the only reason I had a prologue was because I had needed one in the original version of this story that I wrote. So it was most just a legacy more than a necessity.

Also, you may want to go back and read the previous chapters again, I made a major change to character relationships. It was something I'd been considering for a while and I finally decided to do it. I did this to be more in line with the official pairings that have been stated by the creators. I figured I ought to go with what they said. So, yeah, that's about it.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. So, as promised, you'll get a better idea of what's going on this chapter. Good for you for sticking with it! Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

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Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Six: Origins  
By Corlock Striker

February 21, 2001 Larchmont, NY -

Click, whur, whur, clack! The gear on his bike settled into place as he switched into a higher one to make it up the massive hill between his house and Sad's. The layout of the street was sort of like a valley, only one of the hills was shorter than the other. His house was at the top of the shorter hill, while Sad's was past the top of the taller hill and around a corner. He'd been to visit Sad in the hospital; he wanted to find that Paul kid and teach him a thing or two about how to treat people. He didn't like the idea of people hurting his friends.

He was heading over to Sad's house to see if he couldn't convince Sad to help him try and find out what happened to some girl who went missing from her house down in the Manor after moving to Larchmont from California. Jason, Sad, and Mike had always fancied themselves heroes of some kind, and Jason had always been interested in investigation. Well, it'd be better to say spying, or maybe discreetly gathering information. The family of the missing girl was willing to accept help from anywhere, maybe a trio of teenagers could figure out what happened to another teenager faster than the police could. It was worth a shot right? A chance to actually help someone, he knew Sad would jump at it.

He wheeled around the corner and was in sight of Sad's house, approaching fast. There was an unfamiliar car in front of the house, a sort of steel blue Jeep Grand Cherokee. Sad stepped out of the car, as best he could, shrugging his bag onto one shoulder, geez, that backpack looked heavy. He set his crutches in place and said a few things to the person in the car. Jason slowed his bike down. The Jeep pulled away, as the driver glanced about to make sure she wasn't going to hit anyone, Jason saw enough of her silhouette to make out that it was a girl. Once the Jeep was gone, he stopped his bike next to Sad, "Who was that?"

Sad's head snapped around to look at him, he'd been following the Jeep. He looked surprised by Jason's sudden appearance. That wasn't like Sad, he was usually way more aware of his surroundings. "Oh, hey Jason. That, uh, that was the girl I helped out," there was a hint of embarrassment in his voice as he spoke. Then came confusion, "She wants to be my friend. Definitely that, not sure if she wants to be something more though. Maybe, but I doubt it. Who'd want to date a slob like me."

"Aw, don't be so hard on yourself," Jason replied, before diving headlong into what he really wanted to talk about, his voice heavy with excitement. "Anyway, you hear about that girl that went missing a few months ago?"

Sad gave Jason a withering look, "This is Larchmont. Something like that happens, the whole town knows about it in five minutes, even me. Of course, I heard about it." Sad rolled his eyes and began to swing down his driveway, heading for his garage door.

Jason walked his bike after Sad, still talking in that excited tone, "Yeah, well her parents are losing faith in the police's ability to solve the case. They're willing to let anyone try and solve it. What do you think, wanna give it a try? It's a chance to do something heroic."

Sad punched in the code to the garage door, it rumbled as it opened. Once it finished he gave Jason a sad look, and shook his head. "Jason, we're just a bunch of kids. What could we do that the police can't? We don't have their tech, resources or knowledge. We'd just be giving those people false hope. Besides, I'm no hero. Go home, Jason. I wanna be alone for a while."

Jason was left standing outside Sad's garage as he closed the door and made his way into his house, a puzzled look on Jason's face. What was going on, why didn't Sad want to at least try to help this girl. What did he mean he wasn't a hero. Isn't that all he ever wanted to be? Jason didn't get it, they'd spent years fantasizing about doing something like this. Why was Sad turning his back on their one big chance? Well, Jason wasn't going to pass up on this opportunity. He'd find out what happened to that girl, he knew he would.

(POV Shift)

April 21, 2001 Odawara, Japan -

It was two weeks ago that the American girl Katsuke Jessica had shown up and revealed the missing verses of the armor poem to them before being taken away by Kayura for training. Shin wondered how she was doing. He was also concerned about Ryo. He'd been rather distracted ever since and when he wasn't staring off into space he seemed more hot tempered than usual. Ryo had spent most of the time alternating between staring off into space and furiously researching whatever he could and avoiding contact with the other troopers, especially Toma. Shin let out a sigh, why couldn't things ever be simple?

The doorbell rang and Shin wondered who it could be, he stood setting aside the book he was reading. He walked towards the front door, Ryo was already opening it. A frown momentarily tugging at the corners of Ryo's mouth before he greeted the arrival with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, "_Hello Kayura. How lovely to see you again._"

Kayura stepped into the house gracing Ryo with a withering look, "_Always a pleasure Ryo. I've brought Katsuke Jessica back with me. Her training has progressed enough that she is in no immediate danger and she has much to share with us._"

The black haired American girl stepped into Nasté's house after Kayura, removing her sunglasses as she did. As he approached Shin could see that her eyes were clear and the bags below them were starting to fade, she also wasn't squinting at the light in the room. As he drew closer still the stench of alcohol did not assail his senses. _Good for her_.

Shin clapped a hand onto Ryo's shoulder, the other trooper tensing at the sudden contact before relaxing. Shin put on his best smile, "_Kayura, what a wonderful surprise. You are looking very well, Jessica. Please, both of you come in. I'll call everyone down to the dinning room._" With the help of the hand upon his shoulder, Shin was able to drag Ryo away from the door and into the dinning room. This in turn allowed Kayura and Jessica to follow. The other troopers were already in there, the door bell seeming to have summoned them.

Shin led Ryo to his usual seat and then took his own. Kayura and Jessica approached the table. The lady ancient turned to the side, indicating Jessica with her hand. The American girl stepped easily up to the table, no issues with her balance today. Shin glanced over at Ryo, his blue eyes trained on Jessica.

Jessica raised a hand to her mouth and cleared her throat, a slight blush coming to her cheeks, probably from embarrassment. "_I'm sure you're all wondering how I knew your names and other such things the last time we met. It's a long story, perhaps I should start at the beginning._" Kayura pulled out a chair and Jessica gratefully sat down, the other woman standing behind her with a hand resting on the back.

"_I am unsure how much of the origins of the armors you bear you know. From what Kayura has told me, all you seem to know is that the nine you wear once belonged to Arago and that Kaos took that single armor from Arago. Kaos then split the armor into nine separate armors and imbued each with a virtue in the hopes this would prevent them from being used for evil._" Kayura, Nasté, Shin and the other troopers nodded.

Jessica continued, "_This of course leaves you with the mystery of where Arago got such a powerful armor from. Kaos gave it to him, which leads to the next question, where did Kaos get it from? That's where things get complicated. You see, the ancient gods, they were real, but as people stopped believing in them they lost their powers and slowly died. Some took longer to die than others as enough belief remained to sustain them, but even those knew their days were short."_

Jessica paused to take a breath, "_Hephaestus, the Greek smith god, was one of the gods left. He found a way to allow the remaining gods to survive. He forged each god's remaining power into a suit of armor. This stabilized each god's existence, for the time being. However, their powers were nowhere near what they had once been. Odin, the King of the Norse gods, grew angry that humanity had forgotten him. He became consumed by his anger and decided to destroy humanity for this affront, he would make a new race that would not forget him."_

Jessica looked around the table, Shin took the opportunity to do the same. Everyone seemed transfixed by Jessica's tale, including Kayura. Jessica began again, "_Many gods joined with Odin, 15 stood against him, one of whom was Loki. The Norse God of Mischief, despite popular belief, was not evil. He did not want to see humanity destroyed, we were too amusing in his mind. Eventually, Loki and the 14 that sided with him were defeated, though Odin was left with only 7 supporters. Odin had the armors of the 15 gods that stood against him forged into a single armor, he called this the Armor of Creation and he planned to use its power to achieve his goal._"

Jessica paused once more to take a breath, "_This is where Kaos comes in. He stood against Odin in the Armor of Creation, but he could not do it alone. He enlisted the help of a mighty warrior and his army. Kaos and the warrior managed to seal away five of Odin's remaining allies. The other two gave up the fight seeing the tide of battle shift. Kaos and the warrior then confronted Odin and defeated him, sealing him away as well. Kaos took the Armor of Creation from Odin. Knowing it was too powerful to be kept in once piece, he split it in two. One of the armors was known as the Armor of Humanity, and the other the Armor of Earth. Sensing that the warrior who had helped him was destined to wear the Armor of Earth, Kaos gave it to him. We know the warrior as Arago."_

There was a sharp intake of breath from everyone at the table at this news. Shin asked the question on everyone's mind, "_Wait, so you're saying Arago was once a good guy?"_

Jessica nodded, _"Yes, unfortunately, when Kaos made a gift of the Armor of Earth to Arago, he had not yet instilled any virtues in it. As such, it's power corrupted Arago, and he became the menace that you eventually defeated. Seeing what had happened to Arago, Kaos confronted and defeated him. Kaos then split Arago's armor into nine, and infused each with a virtue. As it turns out, when he did this, he essentially returned each to being the armor of a particular god. Seeing what had happened with the Armor of Earth, Kaos decided to split up the Armor of Humanity and instill its component armors with virtues as well. The Armor of Humanity would not split into nine armors though, but rather six. Again, returning each to being the armor of a particular god._"

Shu chimed in, "_Wait, hold on. If there were other armors, how come their bearers didn't help us out in beating Arago. A few extra bodies would have been really helpful in those fights."_

Jessica gave Shu a slight bow before replying, "_The bearers for the Armors of Humanity had not yet been chosen. In fact, those armors have yet to be used. They have remained in a dormant state since they were created, waiting for their chosen bearers. While each armor contains the power of a particular god, they do not house the souls of those gods. The gods are reborn over time. Loki has been reborn and recently came of age. Concurrent with this event Arago has revived Odin. The Armors of Humanity are ready to reveal themselves, just in time to stand against Odin. We need to find their bearers before Odin does."_ With that Jessica finished her tale.

Ryo nodded to her and spoke, "_How do you know all this, Jessica?"_

The American girl smiled, "_I am a descendant of the Katsuke clan, which was part of Kaos's clan. Kayura and I are distantly related. After Kaos divided the armors, he gave the orbs of the Armors of Humanity into the keeping of my family, though for some reason he only entrusted us with five. He then told my clan to leave Japan, and we did. We traveled all over the world, guided by our own visions as to who to entrust with the armors. As far as I am aware, my clan no longer knows the location of any of the armors._ _We have simply been entrusted with the knowledge of their existence so that we may pass that on to you when the time came, as it has."_

Seiji spoke then, "_Thank you, Katsuke Jessica, for giving us this information. It seems you were right, Toma."_

Toma snapped his head to look at Seiji, seeming to come out of a daze, "_About what?"_

Seiji smiled and shook his head, "_About what everything in the dream meant._"

Toma closed his eyes and lifted his head up and to the side, "_Oh, right, that. Well, now the only question is how do we find these other armor bearers?_"

Jessica spoke once more, "_I am sure fate will guide our hand, just as it did by giving us that dream."_

Kayura spoke again, after her long silence, reminding everyone of her presence, "_We can only hope."_

(POV Shift)

February 24, 2011 Larchmont, NY -

Jason's bike skidded to halt in front of a house in the manor. He paused to take it in. It was a large white house, he thought Sad had told him that this particular style was called colonial. Sad's family knew all sorts of stuff like that, though Sad didn't seem to care all that much about those sorts of things. Jason paused just before getting off his bike and looked at the house again. Who was he kidding, Sad was right. There was nothing he could do to help find this missing girl, he wouldn't even know where to start looking. He should just leave these people in peace.

As he turned his bike around he felt a sudden chill. He looked around but there was no one there. Still he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. He mounted his bike and began to ride home. Everything seemed completely normal at first, though he did notice it gradually getting darker. Initially, he figured it was just close to sunset, that is until he checked his watch and saw it was two in the afternoon. As soon as he realized this the world was engulfed in shadows.

His head spun around, all he saw was indistinct gray in every direction. Something was pressing in on his chest, making it hard to breathe. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his heart started pounding. He felt like something was about to pounce upon him, he had to get out of here. Only his limbs wouldn't move, they were frozen in place. He realized he couldn't breathe anymore either, that pressure on his chest making it impossible. _Oh, god, I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I can't breathe._ His vision started to go black around the edges.

As the tunnel of his vision grew narrower a indistinct shape appeared. It spoke it a low, gruff voice, "We've been looking for you, boy." Then everything went black.

(POV Shift)

April 21, 2001 Tokyo, Japan

She had fallen asleep with her head resting on his chest, so she felt the disturbance as he reached over to turn on the light next to the bed. She felt the light beneath her eyelids and moaned in protest to his disruption of her slumber. "_What is it Toma?_"

"_We need to tell the others about us. I can't keep keeping this a secret from them. It's like something's crawling under my skin. Plus they're all wondering why I blew up at Ryo the other day. I'm not ashamed of our relationship._"

Kayura let out a sigh, "_You're right, we need to tell them. When we weren't seeing them all the time there was no need to say anything. But now that we're all seeing each other frequently, and will probably be seeing even more of each other it'll be impossible to keep it a secret. It's better we tell them before they find out on their own. We're meeting them at Nats__é__'s again next Saturday. We'll tell them then, okay?_" She craned her neck up to plant a soft kiss on his lips.

As she pulled away, he replied, "_Alright, that sounds good._"

"_I'm glad you agree, now, can I please go back to sleep?_"

"_Of course, my queen._" He winked at her and she gave him a playful slap on the chest before curling up against him and closing her eyes. This time she rested her head on a pillow.

(POV Shift)

April 23, 2001 Tokyo, Japan

The elevator doors parted and he squirmed his way out past the other occupants onto the floor he worked on. As the doors closed behind him, Ryo adjusted his shirt and jacket and straightened his tie. His hand traveled to his hair and fiddled with it, trying to make the wild mass look somewhat presentable. Looking a bit more professional, he hoped, he walked over to the door to his office. He pulled a very slim leather ID wallet from his left pants pocket and pressed it to a card reader to the side of the door. The light turned green, Ryo pulled the door open and stepped into the lobby of the office.

The receptionist looked up, a bright smile spreading across her face and she sat up straighter, though Ryo didn't really notice that. "_Oh, good morning Ryo. How are you doing?_" Emiko was a rather pretty young woman, no surprise really. Most companies tried to hire attractive women as their receptionists since they became something of the public face when outsiders visited.

Ryo gave her a distracted smile, "_Oh, good morning Emiko. I'm doing well, been catching up with some old friends recently. How about you?_"

Before Emiko replied, the CEO of the company, Rikou Takanaka, marched up the short hall that led to the executive area a broad smile on his face, "_Is that the young Mr. Sanada I hear?_" Rikou was a slim man in his early fifties with a receding hairline and a personality that seemed too large for his body. Emiko pouted and let out a huff at the interruption.

Ryo turned to face Rikou, "_Yes it is, Mr. Takanaka, what can I do for you?_" Ryo was taken aback by the CEO's sudden interest. He wasn't aware that Rikou Takanaka knew who he was.

Rikou walked up to Ryo and draped an arm over Ryo's shoulders, a bit of an awkward task as the man was much shorter. "_Come with me Mr. Sanada, I have some excellent news to share with you._" Rikou proceeded to lead Ryo into his office, "_Take a seat, young man._" Rikou walked around his desk and sat down in a rather large and comfortable looking leather chair as Ryo sat down in one of three simple wooden chairs surrounding his desk.

"_Um, what's this all about sir?_" Given the CEO's jovial disposition, Ryo didn't think he was getting fired.

"_I'm sure that you recall a few months ago we mentioned that we needed someone from this office to go over to our branch in New York and over see a few things, yes? And that you volunteered for this opportunity?_" A large smile spreading across the CEO's face now.

Ryo's eyes widened slightly, the man had to be kidding, he couldn't have been selected for this. It was an excellent opportunity, sure to help him advance further in his career. He couldn't move to New York now though, not with what was coming. "_Well yes, Mr. Takanaka, I do. Do you mean to say I've been selected?_"

"_That's exactly what I'm saying, Mr. Sanada. You'll be heading over next week. We've already made all the arrangements. We've rented a house for you in Rye, NY. It's a suburb of the city and on the commuter train line. It's a very nice little town, I hear._" Rikou smiled at Ryo, quite happy to be delivering this news, apparently.

"_But sir, I can't...I mean, I really don't think I'm the most qualified person for this._" Ryo's eyes darted around the room, he could feel his heart beat quickening. This was a disaster.

"_Nonsense, I wouldn't have picked you if I didn't think you completely capable of handling this. Now, off with you. Everything's been arranged. We've even purchased your plane ticket._" Rikou stood and walked over to Ryo, taking him by the arm and leading him out of the office. "_Congratulations, young man. And good luck to you._" With that, Rikou shut the door to his office. Ryo just stared ahead of him for a few moments before walking towards his desk. How was he going to tell the others about this?

(POV Shift)

April 28, 2001

They were gathered around the table in Nasté's dining room. All of the troopers were there, as were Anubis, Rajura, Naaza and Jessica. Kayura shifted her weight from foot to foot. Toma had seemed rather distracted, as though something was bothering him, all week. When she asked what it was, he told her it was nothing and would not elaborate any further. He seemed even worse today. All of the troopers seemed rather dispirited, in fact. She glanced over at Toma and nodded to him, it was time to tell the others. He caught the nod and returned it, though he seemed to be in a daze.

Just as Toma was about to speak, Ryo burst out, "_I have some rather distressing news everyone. My company is transferring me to the New York office in a week. There's nothing I can do about it, everything has already been decided. I don't know what we're going to do in regards to the whole Odin situation. I'm sorry._" Ryo sighed.

Seiji gave Ryo a puzzled look, "_That's very odd, my job has told me the same thing._"

Shin broke in, "_As has mine._"

Shu spoke up, "_This is really weird. My uncle in New York just purchased a new restaurant in a small town just outside the city. He wants me to go over and run it and he won't take no for an answer._"

Toma looked utterly stunned, "_The university I work for just informed me that I will be a guest teacher at New York University next Fall, and that they want me to head over next week to get acquainted with everything._"

Kayura looked around at the five troopers, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Though now Toma's mood during the past week made perfect sense. She did wish he had told her before this though. They'd have to have a long talk about communication afterwords.

Jessica chimed in, "_I would say that this is the work of fate. It is directing us where we need to go to find the new armors. This simply cannot be coincidence. Do not despair, this is exactly what we needed_."

Toma replied, "_I suppose that must be it._" He paused for a moment, swallowing air, _"I also have something to tell all of you._"

The troopers all looked at him, Seiji giving Toma what seemed a knowing look, "_Oh, and what's that?_"

"_Kayura and I are seeing each other. I thought I ought to tell you guys before you figured it out on your own._" The troopers except for Seiji looked at him in complete surprise.

Ryo spoke in a near whisper, "_You're kidding, right?_"

Seiji was the one who answered, "_No, Ryo he's not. It became rather apparent after his reaction to you three weeks ago. Thank you for telling us, Toma. We all appreciate your honesty. Don't we?_" She noticed that Seiji gave the other troopers a glower with that single violet eye that ordered them to agree, they did. Kayura sighed, at least it was out in the open now, and it wasn't as disastrous as she had thought.

Jessica giggled, "_Well, now that we know what our next course of action is, I suppose we can all take a little break for a week. I'll see you all in America. I'll be heading home after today._"

Kayura glared at Jessica for that giggle, "_Well, I think we're done for today. Though you and I will have to have a discussion later, Toma. I bid you all farewell._" Toma glanced over at her nervously before she turned to walk out of the room, and the house. Fate certainly seemed to be on their side at the moment. She had to wonder how long that would last.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

Again, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to write, and that it's shorter that some of the earlier ones. Sometimes the writer's block is pretty bad, and again, this seemed like the proper stopping point for this chapter. I think the next chapter will come out faster. I hope, don't quote me on that. Chapter 7 is called Transilience.

Thanks for reading.

- Corlock Striker


	7. Chapter 7: Transilience

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. Just don't expect any answers as to what exactly is going on, until around chapter six. At the earliest. You'll notice in the story that I use (POV Shift) and (Time Skip) to signal such things. This is due to this site not allowing me to make use of the publishing industry standard of a line with three asterisks to signal a change in POV and a skipped line to signal a time skip. I put those things in, and it takes them out. So, I had to resort to the above, instead of following standard practice within the publishing industry. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Seven: Transilience  
By Corlock Striker

February 14, 2001 Mamaroneck, NY -

Jane looked over the contents of her locker and checked the items in her arms, making sure she had all the books she needed for math. She hated Trig. She checked her hair in the small mirror on her locker door, using one hand to adjust it to her liking, being careful not to drop her books. She frowned slightly to herself, what Mike had said to her over a week ago was still bothering her. Was he right, was it the guys she was hanging out with that were the problem, rather than an essential flaw within the male sex as a whole?

The thought that it was maybe the guys she hung around, rather than just guys in general made her watch the behaviors of guys all around the school more carefully. The guys in her crowd, the popular ones, certainly seemed to reinforce her opinions. She wasn't sure what to to think of the guys in some of the other cliques though. They actually seemed like they might be decent people, not totally motivated by that thing between their legs. She wasn't naive enough to think that they weren't motivated by that at all, but it seemed like it might not be their primary motivation.

She was still looking at her hair in the mirror. It was small, her head took up almost the whole frame, so she didn't see Tom come up behind her. Instead she felt his arms wrap around her waist, and his body press lightly against her back. He whispered into her ear, "Happy Valentine's Day, babe. My parents are going out tonight, so I'll have the house to myself. I was thinking maybe you could come over, we could have some dinner, and then see where things go from there."

She could feel that smart, suggestive smirk on his face, his hands and body oozing over her. That was a new sensation. Tom was her boyfriend and up until her conversation with Mike, she'd been content with the relationship. She imagined that was because she'd believed that every guy was solely motivated by lust, so she didn't expect much else from them. Which meant that Tom's usual behavior hadn't bothered her. Since that conversation she'd started questioning whether or not she really had to settle for a guy that seemed solely motivated by his baser instincts. As the seed of doubt Mike had planted began to take root, she grew more and more uncomfortable around Tom and more unhappy with their relationship.

She gently disengaged herself from Tom's grasp and turned to face him. She studied him for a moment. Yes, he was handsome but his personality left a lot to be desired and she was starting to realize that personality meant a lot more in a relationship than looks. She frowned and looked down at the ground. She raised her head, her blue eyes looking straight into Tom's green ones. This was a bad day to do this, but she realized that she really couldn't stay in a relationship with him any longer, not with the way she felt when she was around him now. She sighed softly, "Tom, I'm sorry, this is sort of the worst day to do this, but, well. Hmm, how do I put this?"

Tom straightened, electrified, rage storming in his green eyes, "Are you breaking up with me?"

She shrank back from his accusation, swallowing a mouthful of air.

"You can't dump me. I won't let you. Screw you, Jane. We're done!" He stormed passed her, knocking into her shoulder with his own.

She was thrown a little off balance mentally by his reaction and the blow to her shoulder served to upset her physical balance as well. She spun slightly, knocked backwards, the bank of lockers behind her catching her none too gently. Well, that didn't go very well.

One of the girls she regularly hung out with materialized, "Oh my god, I can't believe you just broke up with Thomas Smythe. He's only like the hottest and most popular guy in the school. Are you crazy? You can't find a better boyfriend than him." Jane looked over, it was Megan Walsh.

She'd never really liked Megan. She was very pretty but had zero personality and had always come across as a vapid ass kisser to Jane. Jane would know, Megan had spent plenty of time kissing her ass. Jane also knew that Megan had spoken rather poorly about her to other girls. Megan was the very definition of a sycophant. Seeing Megan and hearing what she was saying, it dawned on Jane that she really had been hanging around with the wrong people.

An involuntary sneer formed on her face as she looked at Megan hovering around her. Jane looked up at a clock, she had to hurry to Trig. She pushed away from the lockers, walking away from Megan without a word.

(POV Shift)

May 5, 2001 Larchmont, NY -

Shu glanced around the restaurant, the space was on the smaller side, and it seemed more cramped due to it's narrow nature. If you took the same square footage and made it a square, it probably wouldn't seem as small as it did in this layout. He'd arrived in America on the last day of April and had spent the last week learning the particulars of this restaurant. He'd been horrified to learn what was considered "Chinese" food in America. That knowledge was thanks to some visits to other local Chinese restaurants to get a feel for the competition.

The food at this particular restaurant was a bit more authentic than in the others he'd seen. Even so it was still a far cry from the real thing. However, he knew enough to know that he shouldn't fool around with the menu too much. If he did he might drive off customers. So, he'd keep the food as it was, for now, and maybe start trying to add some more authentic dishes to the menu one by one as time went on. His uncle also decided to keep the name of the place, to keep customers. So, Shu was now running Ray's Cafe in Larchmont, NY.

He looked down at his watch, the others had arrived in America around the same time as him and spent the last week getting acquainted with their jobs. They were going to meet up for dinner at Ray's today. It was Jess's idea. Her grandmother lived in Larchmont, so she knew the town fairly well, and knew exactly where the restaurant was once he told her the name. Jess had stopped by earlier in the week to check in on him and to introduce him to her grandmother. Jessica said the woman insisted on meeting each of the Troopers individually. She seemed like a nice woman, she gave off a similar vibe to Kaos.

It turned out that most of the Troopers had ended up outside of Manhattan in an area called Westchester County. Shu was in Larchmont, Seiji was one town south in New Rochelle, Shin was in Mamaroneck, which Jess said was basically the same as being in Larchmont but not at the same time. Shu didn't fully understand what she meant by that. Ryo was a little north of Larchmont in a town called Rye. Toma was being put up in Manhattan by New York University. Jessica said they should meet in Larchmont, since it was sort of the middle ground between the Troopers in Westchester. She also suggested it because it'd be more convenient for her, she could spend the weekend at her grandmother's. Jess offered to help Toma get here from the city by train.

It was getting close to 7:00 pm, the time they had agreed to meet for dinner. No one was here yet, Shu was getting anxious. The door opened and Seiji stepped in, Shu let out a sigh of relief and greeted his friend. "Hey Seiji, good to see you. How's the house your company set you up in?" Shu clapped a hand onto Seiji's shoulder, shaking his hand. As he did Nasté stepped through the door. Shu did a double take, "Huh, wha..Nasté, it's wonderful to see you. What a surprise! What are you doing here?" Shu abandoned Seiji, giving Nasté a hug.

Nasté blushed and returned the hug, "Hi Shu. Yes, it's nice to see you as well. Umm..."

Seiji interrupted, "It was sort of a last minute thing, Nasté coming. She and I...Well, we started dating when we all got back together again. So, I invited her to come over with me. I was expecting her to say no, but she said yes, so here she is."

Shu stepped back from Nasté and looked between her and Seiji before a big smile broke out on his face, "Well, it's about time! Come on, sit down." Shu laughed and led them over to a table that could seat twelve but was set for eleven. The door opened again, Shin walked in. Another large smile split Shu's face, "Shin, so glad you're here. Come on over. Seiji and Nasté are here already!"

Shin smiled and walked over. He paused briefly when Shu mentioned Nasté's name and mouthed "Seiji AND Nasté?"

Shu beamed back and mouthed, "Dating."

Shin mouthed, "Oh," and made his way to the table, greeting everyone. Jessica and Toma stepped through the door as he did.

Shu hurried over, a huge smile on his face, "Toma, Jessica, great to see you. Shin, Seiji and Nasté are all here already, come say hi." Toma paused and gave Shu a quizzical look at the mention of Nasté's name. Shu smiled, "I'll let Seiji explain. Everyone's waiting at the table, it's just inside." Shu would have led them over himself but Ryo stepped through the door.

Shu went through the ritual of greeting Ryo and inviting him in, finishing just as Kayura and the Mashou showed up. As he was welcoming them one of the bus boys came up from the kitchen and put a take out order on the bar. Everyone had moved away from the table and was congregating around the bar now. Shu slipped into the narrow space behind the counter and started taking drink orders. The group was chatting quite happily amongst themselves. The presence of Nasté a common topic of conversation.

Shu's smile widened, it was nice to see all his friends together and having a good time, including the Mashou. They had grown to be friends as well over the years, even Rajura, though Shu still didn't quite fully trust him. The door creaked open and a teenaged boy slipped in. He looked like he was fourteen, short blonde hair, oval glasses, thin as a twig. His clothes looked a little too big for him, like they were hand-me-downs or he'd recently lost a lot of weight. He rubbed his temple slightly before nimbly navigating the crowd surrounding the bar and stepped up to it. He glanced around for a moment before catching Shu's eye.

Shu sidled over to the teenager, "Can I help you?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah, I'm here to pick up. Last name's Smith."

Shu nodded, "Ah, yes, of course. Your order is all ready. How will you be paying?"

He handed Shu a gold colored MasterCard as he rubbed his temple once again. Shu looked at the card quizzically, the boy was far too young to have a credit card.

The boy smirked answering Shu's unspoken question, "It's my dad's, he's out in the car. I have his permission to use it."

"Ah, okay then." Shu shrugged, the staff at the restaurant had told him this sort of thing wasn't too unusual here and that he wouldn't get into any sort of legal trouble for running the card. He went ahead and charged it. He eyed the boy again, " Are you feeling okay?"

"Just got a sudden headache. No big deal." He looked around the restaurant, "Busy night tonight."

Shu looked up, "Ah, yes, well, I'm having a little celebration tonight."

"Oh, what are you celebrating?"

Shu smiled, "My arrival to America."

"Oh, are you the new owner, then?"

"Well, my uncle is the new owner, I'm just running the place for him. My name is Shu Rei Fang."

The boy paused, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Rei Fang. I'm Sad Smith, I knew Ray, the guy who originally owned this place. He was my swimming coach way back. Nice guy." Once again, the boy massaged his temple.

"Ah, well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sad Smith. Sad, that's an unusual name. Please, call me Shu." Shu tore off the charge slip and handed it and a pen to Sad.

"It's a family name, short for Sadlier. Thank you, Shu. I'll see you again soon, I'm sure." Sad signed the slip and passed it back to Shu, before grabbing the bag with the food and ducking out of the restaurant.

After he left Kayura and Jessica came over to Shu, both were lowering their hands from their temples. Kayura asked, "Who was that boy just now?"

Shu shrugged, "A customer picking up take out. He said his name was Sad Smith. Why?"

Kayura looked at Jessica and then back at Shu, "I'm not sure. I..we thought we sensed something unusual about the boy, but it passed quickly. We were probably mistaken."

Shu frowned, "If you say so." He looked around, "Well, if everyone's got their drinks, shall we eat?" Everyone nodded and Shu led them back to the table. It was time for his favorite past time.

(POV Shift)

February 26, 2001 Mamaroneck, NY -

Mike was at a table in the library with a bunch of his friends, where they typically spent their free periods. He let out a quiet laugh after Jake told a joke. They discussed their plans for the weekend. Sounded like it was going to be pretty fun.

A female voice broke into their conversation, "Um, excuse me, Mike?"

He turned to face the voice, it was Emilia Turner. She was a cute girl, a year behind him, in Jason's grade. That brought a frown to his face. Jason's parents had called his house on Saturday asking if he'd seen Jason. Jason hadn't come home since going out that afternoon and Mike hadn't seen him in school today. "Yeah, what's up?"

Emilia looked down at her feet, before her dark eyes darted back up to Mike's, "I was wondering if you knew were Jason is? I noticed he wasn't in school today and thought you might know if he was sick or something."

Mike's eyes darted to the left before catching Emilia's again, he wasn't sure what to tell her. He didn't want to start any rumors, not before they knew what actually happened to Jason. "Um, yeah, he's just sick. It seemed pretty bad this weekend. He probably won't be in for a while. Why?"

Emilia seemed startled by his question and blushed, "Oh, um, he and I were just, um, supposed to work on a project together for, uh, history today. Um, yeah, thanks." Emilia evaporated before Mike could ask her anything else.

"Well, that was weird," Jake interjected.

Mike, watching Emilia's retreating back, gave a vacant response, "Yeah."

(Time Shift)

He stepped out into the Junior Lot, which was an actual parking lot in the back of the Palmer building. He headed for his car when he felt someone tug on his sleeve. He turned, Jane Whitticker was on the other end of that arm. He'd heard she broke up with her boyfriend recently. What was his name, Tim, Jim? He'd also heard that she'd started avoiding the people that she usually hung out with. That kind of behavior was always the talk of a high school. He studied her, she seemed drained somehow, and maybe afraid. "Can I help you?"

"I don't know," Jane let go of his sleeve and brought two fingers to each temple letting out a sigh. "I've been pretty confused lately, like I've just woken up from a dream. I thought a lot about what you said the last time we talked. I realize now that the people I called friends, they weren't very good people." She dropped her hands to her sides and slumped a little, "I'm not sure what to do anymore." She shook her head and turned her face away from him, bringing one hand to the bridge of her nose, "I'm not even sure why I'm telling you this."

Mike looked at her and smiled sadly, "Because you need a friend. Come on, let's get something to eat."

"Huh, what?"

Mike smiled, "Just come with me. I promise I won't go anywhere near your pants."

A smile tugged ever so faintly at her lips and she let out a not-quite forced laugh, "Alright, I guess. Not like I've got anything better to do."

Mike led her to his car, as he turned away from the building he could swear a knife went into his back. He looked over his shoulder and saw Thomas Smythe standing there. That was her ex-boyfriend's name! The guy was giving him a death glare. Mike shrugged and looked back at Jane. She was walking slowly next to him, waiting for him to tell her which one was his car. He stopped by a blue '92 Mazda, "I know it's not the kind of car you're used to, but hey, at least it gets me around."

Jane smiled a bit, "I'm starting to realize that a thing like a car doesn't make someone a good person."

Mike smiled back and opened his door, unlocking the car, "Well, that's a good start. Get in."

Jane paused and took a deep breath. She opened the door and got in. They both shut their doors and took off.

(POV Shift)

March 16, 2001 Rye, NY -

Things were going well for Sad. It had finally quieted down for him, students stopped trying to get answers out of him. Most likely because he never gave any. Plus, he was getting out of his casts this weekend, just in time for his eighteenth birthday on the twenty third. Additionally, he and Trish were starting to become friends. He was still surprised a girl like her wanted anything to do with him. His friends and psychiatrist told him it was perfectly natural for her to want to get to know him after what he'd done. He had trouble believing that, he didn't think he'd done anything all that special. He looked down at both his casts and smirked, each one was completely covered with signatures.

It was an interesting phenomenon about casts he'd always noticed. Even if you didn't like the person in the cast, you still wanted to sign it. That's why the signatures on his made him laugh. He wondered how many of them were from people who actually liked him as opposed to people who just wanted to sign them. He was sprawled out in a chair in the senior lounge. Technically, it was the student lounge, it wasn't supposed to be exclusively for the seniors, plus it was completely open to the hallway. Still, the seniors claimed it as their own. It was a fairly large space. It was funny, when he started at RCDS there hadn't been a student lounge.

What was now the lounge had been a computer lab, there had been a second much smaller one, as well. There were still two computer labs, but both were rather small. One of them was where his ninth grade English class had met. The school decided to do away with the large computer lab and turn it into a student lounge because last year RCDS had given all the freshmen and sophomores laptops. Sad had a blueberry iBook, one of the first generation of iBooks. The juniors and seniors hadn't received laptops, but all future grades would. As every student but the current seniors had laptops, the school saw no need for a large computer lab, thus the student lounge.

Normally, the seniors would have given Sad a hard time about being in the lounge, not that it would have made him leave. These days, they left him alone, probably because they didn't want to make a kid in casts get up. Plus there weren't really any other chairs around the school for students to sit in, outside of the classrooms. Those two facts seemed sufficient reason for the seniors to leave him be to Sad. He never considered that they might be scared of him or that they had some measure of respect for him. Sad leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes. Trish was in class right now, he had a free period. He shook his head, he still couldn't quite believe that Trish had actually said yes when he asked if she wanted to come to his birthday party next Friday.

"Hey Sad," he knew that female voice pretty well, Katherine Doyle. He'd had a crush on her for the longest time. He was on sort of friendly terms with her. They mostly spoke online, no real interaction at school, though she wasn't completely cold to him in person. They were just in completely different crowds, especially since Sad wasn't really in any crowd. He'd made attempts to hint at the fact that he wanted to date her, probably rather heavy handed ones. He wasn't exactly smooth. She acted like she didn't pick up on them.

His one triumph in the whole endeavor was getting her to agree to a bet. If she could figure out where his house was, without asking any living person for directions by a certain date, he'd either make her dinner or take her out to dinner. If she couldn't do it by that date, then she had to do the same for him. He was continually pushing the deadline back. He was fairly certain she never had any intention of trying to find his house. She was just being polite about it by claiming she was too busy to make the effort. Of course, when he asked if she was actually serious about it and why she'd even agreed to the bet in the first place, she said she was serious and that she wanted to get to know him better.

He opened a single slate blue eye and looked up at her, she was very pretty. Social standing wise, Trish was considered hotter, but Katherine was a bit more developed. She had brown hair that fell past her shoulders and green eyes, her jaw line was soft, sort of rounded. He felt his pulse quicken, "What's up?"

"You know that bet we made?" Her shoulders looked just the slightest bit tense, as if she was slightly nervous. Why the hell would she be nervous around him? She'd never been before.

He had to swallow a bit of air, "Um, yeah. What about it?" He felt himself getting excited. Thoughts of Trish kept creeping into his head, along with a slight feeling of guilt.

"Well, I haven't found your house yet, and the deadline was last Friday, right? So, I owe you a dinner. I was thinking we could maybe do it this weekend?" Her tone and body language seemed completely calm, but there was some sort of frenzied energy that Sad could just barely perceive.

He pinched his eyes, this was something he'd desperately wanted for years and it was finally within his grasp. Only he knew why she was finally showing interest in him and it pissed him off. She hadn't given him the time of day in terms of his romantic feelings towards her before the incident with Paul and Trish. Even though they'd struck up something of a friendship, she hadn't been able to look past his appearance and reputation to see that he might be worth dating. She was only interested now because she'd seen what he did for Trish.

Granted the same could be said for Trish, but Trish seemed genuinely interested in him, at least as a friend. Katherine just seemed to be jumping on the bandwagon, well after the fact. He grabbed the anger that was rising up within him by the throat and forced it down, not letting it come out in his voice, or so he thought. "I'm sorry Katherine, this weekend just isn't good for me. I'm getting my casts off and my parents want to celebrate with me. So do my friends. My whole weekend is booked. And spring vacation starts after next week and that's finals week. I'm going to be studying all week. Maybe we can try for April?" He couldn't believe that he was turning down Katherine, him.

Everything he said was true. He'd made plans with his parents for Friday night or rather they had made them. His friends laid claim to the entirety of Saturday, and Trish surprised him by insisting that he spend Sunday with her. The bit about next week being finals week was also true. RCDS was on a very weird schedule in regards to that. After his freshman year finals had been moved to taking place three quarters of the way through the year, just before spring break, which was always the last two weeks of March. The school told them they had made this change so that if students did poorly on their finals they would still have some time left in the school year to make up for the poor grade.

Katherine's shoulders dropped just the slightest bit. He would have missed it if he hadn't been watching her intently. "Oh, okay. Yeah, I guess it'll have to wait until April. Okay then, we'll figure it out after break." Katherine turned and walked away.

Sad looked down at his watch, it was almost time for his next class. He forced himself up out of his chair. He started to swing his way to class. He wondered how Trish's day was going.

(POV Shift)

Date Unknown, Valaskjálf, Asgard -

The entirety of the Nine Realms were laid out before him as he sat upon his throne, Hlidskjalf. He rested his chin on his right hand, the elbow supported by the armrest of his white marble throne. Fingers ran along his chin in thought as his left hand rubbed at the hanging scar upon his neck. His single eye scanned back and forth over the realms. Huginn and Muninn, his ravens, whispered into his ears what they had seen, telling him of what had come to pass during his imprisonment. It had been easy enough to find Heimdallr's armor. The man took his job to watch for the coming of Ragnarok so seriously, he could not abandon his post. The Monk that defeated Odin had most likely discovered that when he attempted to hide Heimdallr's Armor it could not be moved from the foot of Bifrost. Thus the monk had been forced to leave it there, making it ever so easy for Odin to find.

With Heimdallr's Armor in hand it had been exceedingly simple to find the Armor of Diana. The Monk had linked it to Heimdallr's. Luck seemed to be favoring Odin thus far, for when he found Diana's Armor he found the girl that was meant to wear it. He set Gilgamesh to watch her home, in the hopes the one who was to wear Heimdallr's Armor would be drawn there, and he had. Odin now had two of the fifteen armors and their bearers in his possession. Frigga and Hel were currently in the process of breaking the two bearers, Claire and Jason they said their names were. When they were done, the two would be his loyal servants, and he would have two of the fifteen at his disposal to help him defeat the rest.

He had also cast the runes and questioned Mímir in regards to the locations of the other armors. Both had given him vague answers, and Huginn and Muninn told him that all knowledge of the armors had passed out of common knowledge in Midgard. Mímir told him that Loki had been reborn though he had yet to come into his power. Odin could not let Loki do so. He had to find him before he had a chance to gain enough strength to challenge Odin. Thus did his eye scan over the Nine Realms, searching for Loki.

As was his habit, Loki was proving difficult to find, though Odin's eye kept being drawn to a part of a country called the United States of America that was called New York and more specifically the city of that name, though his vision seemed to alternate between focusing in on the city and pulling out just slightly from it to encompass the surrounding area. Jason and Claire had been found in the same town in that area, perhaps Loki was inadvertently drawing the others to himself? It seemed that would be the place to start then. He would take Midgard, and he would start with New York.

Freki and Geri, the two wolves who laid at his feet, growled, informing him that someone approached. He brought the gaze of his single eye back to the silver halls of Valaskjálf, where he saw Frigg and Hel approaching. He smiled at the sight of his wife Frigg. She was the most beautiful of the gods, only her necklace Brisingamen came close to her beauty. As always, she wore her cloak of falcon feathers which allowed her to change her shape. While Frigg brought a smile of pure delight to his cracked lips, Hel brought one of twisted humor. There seemed to be a line drawn vertically down Hel's body, on one half of the line she was nearly as beautiful as Frigg, on the other she was nothing more than a skeleton. Her presence on his side amused him for the simple fact that she was Loki's daughter and yet she had chosen to side with him against her father, simply marvelous.

The two women stopped before Hlidskjalf, Freki and Geri still growling, their hackles rising. Odin lowered a hand before one of the wolves, fingers splayed. Both quieted and resumed resting at his feet. The two women bowed and Frigg spoke, "All Father, we came to report how things are progressing with the two human children you left in our care."

Odin nodded, "Well, what have to you report to us?"

Hel raised her head, her half human half bone mouth in motion a most disturbing vision, "The girl, Claire as she calls herself is broken. We have begun the indoctrination process with her. She will be ready soon. The boy, Jason, is proving slightly more resilient to our efforts."

Odin frowned, "Shall we find a replacement for the two of you then?"

Frigg spoke quickly, "No, my lord, of course not. We will break him, it is only a matter of time. We simply thought you would like to know of our progress and that it might take a little longer than usual."

Odin nodded, "We understand. Thank you for your report. Return to your work immediately."

The two women nodded and rose, turning around to glide out of the hall. As they exited a powerfully built man limped into the gleaming silver hall. Odin waited patiently as he ponderously made his way up to Hlidskjalf, dragging one leg behind him. He stopped before the throne and knelt, waiting to be acknowledged.

"And what do you have to report to us, Hephaestus? How goes the work we set you to with Dvalin, the dwarf?"

Hephaestus raised his head, his bare broad shoulders the mark of his craft, "The forging goes well. The materials you gave us were of the highest quality and Dvalin and his kind know how to work such materials wonderfully. With the addition of my skills and power all nine will be ready on time. They may well be my finest work yet. You need only find people to use them."

Odin smiled again, Hephaestus and Dvalin's latest work would serve to swing the odds further in his favor. All that remained was to find suitable vessels for their creations. "You have our deepest gratitude for your hard and timely work, Hephaestus. You are a great asset to our cause and your contribution will not go unremembered or unrewarded. You will have a high place in the order to come."

"Thank you All Father, it is a pleasure to serve."

"Yes, we are sure it is. You may take your leave."

"At once, All Father." Hephaestus rose and limped out of the hall.

Odin smiled, everything was going according to plan. Loki had no hope, no hope at all.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

Well, I said that this Chapter would be out pretty soon. So, here you go. Things are going a bit faster on the writing front these days. And the story is starting to hit its stride, so things should start happening pretty quickly from here on. Chapter 8 is called Renascence.

Thanks for reading.

- Corlock Striker


	8. Chapter 8: Renascence

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. You'll notice in the story that I use (POV Shift) and (Time Skip) to signal such things. This is due to this site not allowing me to make use of the publishing industry standard of a line with three asterisks to signal a change in POV and a skipped line to signal a time skip. I put those things in, and it takes them out. So, I had to resort to the above, instead of following standard practice within the publishing industry. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Eight: Renascence  
By Corlock Striker

March 3, 2001 Larchmont, NY -

He was on his way home from life guarding at the Carlton House thinking about the recent changes in his life. Jane was starting to hang out with him and his friends almost exclusively these days. It was causing quite the scandal around school. Mike thought it was for the best though, she seemed happier these days, less bitchy. That's all anybody really needed, good friends. Jane was starting to learn that and learn what made someone a good friend and, more importantly, a good person. It wasn't really a surprise to him that she was happier now.

He walked up Chatsworth Avenue, approaching the fork where Chatsworth veered off to the right and the road straight ahead became Rockingstone Avenue. Another street came in from the left called Mountain Avenue, a friend of his lived on it. He saw a sign saying there was a tag sale on Mountain. He stopped. His father was obsessed with tag sales. His dad worked as a child psychiatrist and visited every tag sale he saw to see if there were any toys his patients might like. Mike figured he ought to do his dad a favor and check this one out.

He turned down Mountain. The house with the tag sale was a few houses down on the left, an odd assortment of items laid out on various tables and blankets, giving a brief glimpse into the life of the seller. Mike nodded in greeting to the old woman sitting in a lawn chair at the top of the driveway. He perused the offered wares. There were a few toys from television shows he watched as a kid, both his dad and Sad would be interested in those. He kept looking, stopping in front of a table full of nick knacks.

Amid a random assortment of ceramic figures and tiny boxes were two glass spheres, one white the other a pale translucent purple, almost lilac. A voice broke out from below his shoulder, "Ah, yes, very nice items. Very rare. You should buy. Two dollars." He looked down, it was the old woman from the top of the driveway. He glanced back down at the spheres, he felt drawn to them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two crumpled dollar bills, handing them to the woman as though compelled. He picked up the spheres and tucked them into his pocket.

"Mm, yes, you make good choice, very fine taste. Have nice day." She chirped happily, pocketing his money.

Mike nodded absently and walked away, heading back home. The two orbs heavy in his pocket.

(POV Shift)

March 22, 2001 Rye, NY -

He got home from work a few minutes ago and was in his bedroom changing. He heard a car pull up in front of the house and walked over to the window as he pulled off his tie. It was a '95 green Jeep Cherokee Sport, Sad's car. Trish had been spending a lot of time with him lately, and for the first time since she was in elementary school, he found himself trusting a boy around her. That was likely due in no small part to what Sad had done on January 25. Though he'd also spoken to Sad and found him to be a truly decent boy, no that was the wrong word. Sad wasn't a boy, he was a young man and a decent one at that. His parents did an excellent job raising him, they must be proud.

Trish got out of the car and walked up to the front door, letting herself in. He walked away from the window and pulled off his shirt. He changed into a pair of old khakis, and a polo shirt. As he was putting on his docksiders, he heard Trish come up the stairs and go into her room. He supposed he ought to ask her about it, after all tomorrow was the day. He got up from the bed and walked over to her door. He rapped on it with the knuckles of the first two fingers of his right hand.

"Who is it?" Her voice unusually bright. Should he be worried about her around Sad? He dismissed the thought immediately. Sad didn't have enough self-confidence to try anything like that with Trish.

"It's me, your loving father."

"Okay, you can come in, daddy." His eyes widened, she hadn't called him daddy in years. Maybe he did have to worry about her around Sad. Just because Sad wouldn't think of trying anything with her, didn't mean she wouldn't. He opened the door slowly. The room was about a girly as one could get all lace and frills, pastels and white. He smiled to himself, she was his little princess, "I just wanted to know if you had figured out who to give the orbs to. Tomorrow's the day, after all."

Trish giggled, "Of course I do, daddy. I've known for a while now. They're going to be a birthday present."

His eyes widened again. She couldn't mean Sad. There was no way his ancestors could have meant Sad. His mind reeled, "Are you sure? I'm sorry, but Sad?"

Trish smiled sadly, almost in pity, "Exactly. He seems such an unlikely choice, doesn't he? When you think about the riddle, the person would have to be an unlikely choice, wouldn't he? So full of contradictions, how could anyone really think of him as a sound choice. That's why they worded it the way they did. To make me consider people who weren't obvious. So I'd really have to think about it."

He stopped and carefully thought about what she said then nodded. She was right, he'd often thought that himself over the years. Still, the boy who'd been beaten half to death was going to save the world? Suddenly he wasn't sure they'd survive. "Well, if you're certain then that's that. Just remember, you have to give them to him yourself. They must pass _directly_ from your hands into his."

Trish nodded, "I know daddy, you've only told me a thousand times. I won't forget."

He let out a deep breath, bordering on a sigh, "Alright, well, I'll leave it to you then." He turned and walked out, closing the door. He seriously questioned the sanity of his ancestors, Sad Smith? He shook his head and wished he had a bomb shelter.

(POV Shift)

March 23, 2001 New York, NY -

His parents weren't going down to Florida over Spring Break this year, he was thrilled. He hated it down there. It seemed strange that someone from the North East wouldn't want to go down to Florida. The issue for Sad was that his parents were significantly older than those of his peers. His dad was in his early sixties and his mom was in her late fifties. When they went down to Florida they stayed in a gated community in a town most people had never heard of, and there weren't really any people his age down there, so he was usually bored out of his mind. This year he'd actually get to hang out with his friends.

He looked around the table, his three older sisters were there, along with his oldest sister's husband and Chris, his youngest sister's fiance, so were his parents. Mike was there as well, along with a few other friends of his. Luke had gone to RCDS with him in ninth and tenth grade and then switched to Mamaroneck High. They'd met on the bus since they both lived in Larchmont. Then there was Pete, his only actual friend at RCDS. Pete had moved down to Rye from Canada in ninth grade and his locker had been one over from Sad's. Pete, being the new kid in school and being a total geek as well, had been just as much of an outcast as Sad. As neither one had anyone else who wanted anything to do with them, they'd become close friends. Pete then got to know Luke through Sad, and Pete, through Luke, managed to make friends with the group of the least popular kids in their grade and both brought Sad into the group. Even so, that group still didn't really like Sad. He felt like an outsider within it.

Then there was Oliver, Sad and Oliver had never gone to school together; he lived in New Rochelle. Despite that they'd been friends since second grade. They were sailing partners for a few summers at Larchmont Yacht Club and while both of them had quickly lost interest in sailing they remained friends. Now Oliver was a year ahead of him, because Sad had repeated the seventh grade, despite his protests. Oliver was his only friend that was his age. Oliver turned 18 at the end of February, Sad was turning 18 tonight, at 8:40 pm to be precise. A broad smile spread across his face at seeing his family and almost all his friends gathered together to celebrate his birthday. A frown almost formed as he thought of Jason, his one friend who wasn't here. What happened to him? His eyes turned to the final person at the table, Trish.

He was still amazed she was friends with him and more so that she was here tonight. She seemed to be getting along with everyone, even his sisters. She was the first girl he'd been friends with since elementary school, so he'd been worried how they'd react to her and if they'd approve of her. Given that his youngest sister was eight year older than him, and his middle sister was twelve, with his oldest being thirteen years older than him, they almost viewed themselves as secondary mothers to him. He wasn't sure if they'd think she was good enough for their precious baby brother. Even though he and Trish weren't dating and probably wouldn't, as Sad couldn't imagine her wanting to date him. They seemed to like her, though they were asking her a million and one questions, keeping her rather occupied.

When Chris was introduced to Trish, he'd given Sad a little wink and an approving nod. That had flustered Sad, he'd gone to try and explain but hadn't gotten the chance. Other people had immediately commanded his attention. Still it was turning into a good night. They were celebrating at the Jekyll and Hyde Pub in Greenwich Village. He'd had birthday's here before, it was always a good time. The werewolf head on the wall started talking, cracking jokes about how some of the patrons were dressed and making a few corny ones relating to being a werewolf. Everyone laughed.

It was 8:00 pm, he'd be eighteen is forty minutes. Their food arrived, most people had ordered burgers, though Trish had ordered a salad. She shouldn't worry about what people would think of her based on what she ate. The only thing Sad would judge her on is whether or not she was comfortable with herself. He wouldn't think she was a pig because she ordered a burger or something stupid like that. There was a lot of joking going on around the table, Sad fully engaged in the conversation. When he was comfortable around people, as he was with his family and friends, he had a great wit. He got most of the table laughing with the jokes he told, even the ones that were high brow, including Trish. That made him smile.

They finished dinner at about 8:30 and ordered dessert. The Sphinx on the wall had made a few jokes while they'd ate and pointed out that it was his birthday, as had the skeleton on the pipe organ. The dessert came out, with a candle in the brownie sundae he had ordered. The requisite singing of "Happy Birthday" occurred and Sad blew out the candle. 8:40 hit, Sad was eighteen, and with it came a monster headache. Sad's right hand shot up to his temple as he squeezed his eyes shut.

His mom and his sisters all turned to him, crying out softly in unison, "Sad, are you okay?"

He waved their concern away with his left hand and forced his eyes open, "I'm fine, just a headache. It's no big deal." He forced his hand down from his temple and picked up his spoon. He started in on his sundae, forcing himself to smile and go on like nothing was wrong. A bomb had gone off inside his skull, leaving his brain in fragments. Despite his efforts to look and act normal there was a tightness around his eyes that hinted at his discomfort. His mom and sisters kept shooting him concerned looks, as did his friends and Trish. His brother-in-law seemed oblivious, more interested in talking about his own accomplishments. If his dad noticed, and he probably did, he pretended not to, as did Chris, like most men would when another said he was fine, even if he didn't seem it.

He finished his dessert along with everyone else, Trish had ordered fresh fruit. His dad payed the bill and they all got up to leave. His mom and dad had driven into the city in separate cars as his small number of friends had been too numerous to fit into a single one. They walked to the garage, Sad's head still pounding. Every time he closed his eyes in response to the pain images flashed inside his head. A spectral figure in samurai armor, viking long boats, a creature made of them, the earth turning black and dying, fifteen blurry figures four with wings, a close up of one of the winged figures, a green dragon lunging for the viking boat creature, and a weird staff with rings hanging from it.

The images went by too quickly for him to make out much detail, he just got a general idea. They seemed jumbled together, appearing in no discernible order. He stumbled whenever an imaged flashed in his mind, Mike and Oliver catching him by the arms each time. He was too preoccupied by the throbbing in his head to notice the worried looks that passed between them every time. They made it to the garage and he leaned against a wall as they waited for the car, clenching his eyes. The images coming in a torrent, the throbbing in his head increasing in concert. He sucked in air through his teeth, wincing.

He didn't notice but Trish kept throwing worried glances his way. The car pulled up and Sad got into the front seat, his dad taking the driver's seat. Mike got into the back seat behind him, Trish beat out the others for the final seat in the car. His eyes still closed tight, he didn't see the quick worried glance his dad gave him. Sad buckled in, as did Trish and Mike, followed shortly by his dad. He lowered his window and pried his eyes open. He said bye to Luke, Pete and Oliver; thanked them for coming, and that he'd see them back at his house. They wished him happy birthday once more; he rolled up the window. His dad pulled out of the garage and drove them back to Westchester.

The plan had been for everyone to go back to his house, where they'd have a sleepover. Minus Trish, of course, his parents weren't going to let anything like that have the remotest chance of happening. However, it seemed everyone had reached a unspoken agreement. His dad stopped in Rye first to drop Trish off. She got out of the car and started to walk to her front door, stopping only a yard or two away from the car before looking over her shoulder. She hurried back to the car and knocked softly on Sad's window.

He squeezed his eyes shut tighter at the sound before wrenching them open and rolling down the power window. It was hard to focus on her with the pain in his head. He was aware enough to notice that she seemed agitated. She produced a perfectly wrapped present, about the size of a cigar box, "Happy Birthday." There was a nervous tone to her voice, she seemed reluctant to hand over the box. Much to his surprise she leaned in the window as he took the box from her and planted a kiss on his cheek.

His eyes widened, "Wha..?" Before he had a chance to fully form a question she turned away and ran up the path to her house. Mike snickered, patting him on the shoulder. Sad rolled up the window, watching as her silhouette was swallowed by the door. His dad backed out of her driveway and drove to Larchmont. Sad's head was still pounding as he leaned back in his seat. The images were still flashing randomly inside his head, interrupted frequently by images of Trish.

The car came to a halt, Sad looked around through slitted eyes. They were in front of Mike's house, only a block away from his own. The back door opened and Mike stepped out of the car. Sad opened his mouth to protest, a sudden shooting pain silenced him. Mike leaned in and patted him on the shoulder again.

"Happy Birthday, man, feel better. I'll see you tomorrow," Mike shut the door, quietly.

His dad pulled away and drove the short distance home. As the car pulled into the garage his mom pulled in behind them. Sad forced himself out of the car and shut the door, wincing at the sound. He leaned against the car.

"'I'll pull in the car. You head up to bed," the first sign of concern from his father Sad noticed.

He tried to say he'd do it, but quickly clutched his head, collapsing against the car. He nodded and staggered to the door to the basement. Leaning heavily on the railing he surmounted the first set of stairs, and staggered through the front hall to the second set, leaning against the wall below the stairs the whole way. With the help of the railing, he made it up the second set of stairs, and staggered a few feet to the left and across the narrow upstairs hallway into his bed room. He peeled off his clothes and collapsed into his bed. As he fell into a restless and troubled sleep, the images that had been flashing in his head resolved themselves into a coherent dream.

(POV Shift)

Mike tossed and turned in his sleep, the result of a troubling dream. He muttered incoherently, though one word came out clearly, "Loki." All the while the two spheres he bought at the tag sale emitted soft, colored light.

(POV Shift)

Trish's sleep was troubled as well, by the very same dream that was being shared by sixteen other people, though she didn't know that. She tossed and turned in her sleep, the word "Loki" also passing from her lips.

(POV Shift)

March 23, 2001 Fensalir, Asgard -

He didn't know how long he'd been here, all he knew was that his entire body hurt worse than anything he'd ever felt in his life. Although the pain in his shoulders made the pain in the rest of his body seem like a minor bruise. His wrists were chained above his head, just high enough that the balls of his feet could touch the ground, keeping his shoulders from dislocating, but preventing them from supporting any of his weight. He was chained to a wooden beam in an open pagoda that was in the middle of a swamp.

He thought he was in the Bayou, but the woman with the necklace who called herself Frigg told him he was in her hall, Fensalir in Asgard. Sad read the Thor comics published by Marvel and talked about them enough for Jason to know that Asgard was where the Norse Gods lived. Frigg had to be full of shit, the Norse Gods didn't exist. He was pretty sure Jesus and his father didn't exist, so how could Odin and the others? At least that's what he had told himself before he met Hel.

When Hel appeared with half her body covered in flesh and the other nothing but bones, it was hard to deny Frigg's claims. Initially he thought that Hel was just wearing an elaborate costume, but when she had gripped his arm with her skeleton hand and his flesh had started turning black, well, it got pretty hard to believe it was all just an elaborate show. At first he tried to think up a rational explanation for how they did that, but he couldn't. Then they had started to torture him. Anyone could figure out when they were being tortured, so he'd been able to recognize what they were doing.

He was holding up pretty well, they wanted to steal his memories or copy them or something. They'd gotten a lot of them but weren't satisfied. He'd kept the memories relating to his family and friends away from them, for good reason. There was a redheaded girl chained to the next post over on his right, they alternated between calling her Claire and Diana. He wasn't sure exactly why, though they also called him Heimdallr, whoever that was. Whatever her name, they'd gotten the memories of her family and friends and brought them here, torturing them just to hurt her.

When they found out that she found him attractive they started doing the same with him. He, unfortunately, let them find out he found her attractive too. The emotion too new to hide well. When they discovered that, they tortured her just to hurt him. He couldn't let them find out about his family and friends, he wouldn't. They weren't going to hurt anyone else he cared about. Not if he could stop it. It was getting hard to resist them though. They promised to stop if he just let them have his memories, to unchain him, to treat his wounds. He knew they were lying. They wouldn't stop until he'd completely lost himself and pledged his allegiance to the one they called Odin. They'd asked him to do that a few times, though it was more a command than a request.

At first, when they used mundane methods, back when he had thought they were lying about being gods, it was easy to resist. The more he came to believe their claims though, the harder it was. Once they switched to, how would Sad phrase it? Right, more arcane methods, he started to believe them more, especially with the addition of Hel to the sessions. At least he had some peace when he slept. They weren't here now, he might as well sleep, what else could he do? He looked over at the girl to his right. Her eyes were closed and her head hung limply from her shoulder. She had similar thoughts, apparently.

He closed his eyes, dropping his head to his chest, letting his exhaustion take him. As he did, he dreamed. At first he thought that Hel and Frigg had figured out a way to invade his dreams, with the appearance of a creature made of viking boats killing all life on earth. He panicked thinking he wasn't safe from them even in his sleep. Then he saw reason to hope in the figures of fifteen people, especially one with the wings of a demon. A green dragon attacked the figure of boats, and he knew this dream couldn't have come from those two. They wouldn't let him have any hope. The dream ended with the image of a strange staff, he snapped awake.

His eyes darted around, searching for his tormentors. He caught the eyes of the girl, she spoke in a cracked voice, "You had it too didn't you? The dream about the dragon?" Hope shined in eyes that had looked dead since he'd arrived.

He nodded, his voice equally weak, "Yes." She smiled, it faded abruptly at the sound of sloshing footsteps approaching. He turned his head, Frigg and Hel had returned. He wondered how much longer he could last.

(POV Shift)

March 24, 2001 Larchmont, NY -

Mike woke up groggy from a poor nights sleep. That dream vivid in his mind. As he woke, the family pets that slept with him, woke up. Gadget their totally bad ass declawed black cat stretched, as did their miniature dachshund, Deanna, along with their overly large pug, Mooch. He swung his feet out of bed and stretched, yawning. The animals all hopped off the bed and ran off. He made his way into the bathroom to shower.

Towel drying his hair a few minutes later he walked back to his room, shutting the door. As he continued to dry off, his cell rang, probably Sad. He picked it up without checking the caller ID, "Hey Sad, I just had the weirdest dream last night."

The voice on the other end was definitely not Sad's. Jane didn't even bother to correct him, a nervous tone in her voice as she drilled him, "You did? I had a weird one too. What was yours about?"

He scratched his head, "Well, there was like this figure made out of boats..."

She interrupted, "And fifteen people and then a green dragon?"

A puzzled look crossed his face, "Yeah and a weird staff, how'd you know?"

"I had the same dream."

His jaw dropped, "You're kidding, right?"

She sounded angry, "Of course I'm not! You think I'd be able to just randomly guess details from your dream if I hadn't had it?!"

He winced, "Yeah, you're right. Sorry. Look, I want to check on Sad, he wasn't feeling well last night. I want to make sure he's okay. After that we can meet up and discuss this whole thing."

"Okay, sure. We'll met at Bradley's?"

"Uh, sure, that sounds good."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit then. Bye."

"Bye." A click and she was gone. He pulled the phone from his ear and checked the time. It was after noon, Sad would definitely be up, unless he was still sick. He hit the speed dial number for Sad's house. Sad got next to no cell phone signal in his house, in fact, no one got signal there, and put the phone to his ear. Sad's mom picked up, "Hi, Mrs. Smith, it's Mike. Can I speak to Sad?" He heard her yell to Sad that he was on the phone. Next thing he knew Sad's voice was coming over the line.

He sounded a little groggy but otherwise alright, "Hey Mike. Dude, I had the craziest dream last night."

It couldn't be, could it? "Viking boats, fifteen figures, green dragon and a staff?"

There was dead silence, "Yeah, you had it too, didn't you?"

"Yup, so did Jane. She just called and told me."

"Jane?"

"Yeah, Jane Whitticker."

"Jane Whitticker from Murray? Like the most popular girl in your grade, Jane Whitticker?"

"Uh, yeah, that's the only Jane Whitticker I know."

"Why the hell is Jane Whitticker calling you? I'm sorry Mike, but you're not exactly Mr. Popular."

Mike sighed, "It's a long story. I'll tell you some other time. I'm going to meet up with her at Bradley's so we can discuss the dream. You should probably come too."

"Yeah, I guess so. Alright, I'll pick you up?"

"How's your head?"

"Fine, thanks. Headache's all gone."

"Cool, I'll see you in a bit."

"Yup." Sad hung up.

Mike closed his phone and got dressed, by the time he finished, Sad's car was waiting outside. He got in, and Sad started driving up to Rockingstone.

"Oh, Trish is going to meet us there." He made the left onto Rockingstone.

"Uh, why?"

"She called me after we got off the phone. Turns out she had the dream too." They drove past the train station and crossed Palmer Avenue, heading toward the lower part of town.

"Dude, what the hell is going on?"

"I have no fucking clue."

Sad turned right onto the street that ran along the Chatsworth Avenue School's playground and then left into the communal parking lot. They found a spot across from Foley's Hardware. Trish pulled into a spot nearby. They waited for her and walked through the alley that connected to Chatsworth just above Villarina's Pizza. They turned to the right and walked down two store fronts to Bradley's. It was a little pastry shop. Sad loved the place, and Mike had to admit their stuff was pretty damn good.

Jane was standing outside the shop waiting. When she saw Sad and Trish with him she gave Mike a look that said, "Why the hell are they here?" He shrugged and sighed. They stopped when they reached her. "Jane, as I'm sure you remember, this is Sad. And this is Trish. They had the dream too."

Jane's eyes widened, "Okay, now this is just getting creepy."

Everyone nodded. They went inside and ordered some breakfast and sat down at one of the small tables inside. Jane broke the silence, "Does anyone know why we all had the same dream?"

Trish looked down at the table, avoiding everyone's eyes. Sad scratched his chin and looked a little embarrassed, like he thought he was about to say something stupid, "Well, I mean there are all sorts of theories about dreams. Most cultures have always believed that there was some meaning behind them. It was a pretty popular belief that they could predict the future." He laughed nervously, quickly moving on, "People now a days don't believe that. The more common belief is that dreams are products of our subconscious and are a means by which we work out issues that are troubling us in our every day lives." He hesitated, "I've always thought there might be some truth to the idea that they're a means for us to work out our issues, more than other theories. Though the idea of them being somehow prophetic has always intrigued me...I mean, I've always thought it was a bit far fetched..." He trailed off.

Jane continued, "But seeing as how we all had the same exact dream, you're thinking this might be prophetic, aren't you?"

Sad nodded, "I mean, it's possible that we all had the same issues we were working through and so each of our individual subconscious-es gave us the exact same dream. But the odds of us having the exact same issues we needed to solve, and that each of our very different brains would use the exact same images to help us work through those problems..."

Mike nodded, "The odds of that are pretty astronomical, close to impossible, I'd say."

Sad nodded.

Mike voiced the question they were all thinking, "So, you're saying that this dream is some sort of vision of the future?"

Sad scratched the back of his head and blushed, "I mean, that seems like the only logical answer to me, as illogical and far fetched as it sounds."

"It sounds utterly crazy, you mean," came Jane's reply. "Well, you might as well call me crazy too, because I think I agree with you."

Sad smiled, "Well, good thing I'm not the only crazy one. The only question now, is why us?"

Trish broke in, "Um, well...I think I know why Sad had the dream...but I'm not sure about the rest of us."

Sad gave her a bewildered look as did everyone else.

"Did you open the present I gave you last night, Sad?"

"Uh, no, I haven't opened any of my gifts yet."

Trish nodded, "Then lets go back to your place. I'll explain everything once you've opened my gift."

"Um, okay." Sad looked baffled, so did Jane. Mike wasn't sure if he looked it, but he sure felt it.

(POV Shift)

_What the hell was Trish talking about, she thought she knew why I had the dream? What did the present she gave me have to do with it? What the hell is going on?_ He hurried back to his car, Mike right on his heels, Jane not far behind. Only Trish seemed reluctant to leave. He got to his car and unlocked it. He and Mike buckled in. After he backed out, they took off for his house. He pulled into his driveway, opening the garage door. Once he stopped the car he and Mike both flew out of it, ducking under the garage door while it was still going up. He left it open for Jane and Trish and dashed into the basement, and then into his lair.

The room in the basement had started out as a family room where most of his toys were kept. As a child he had spent a lot of time down there. His sisters initially had made use of it as well, but they used it less and less as they went through high school, preferring to go out with their friends than hang out at the house. The room slowly started to become exclusively his. With all of his sisters now living on their own, he had sole claim to it, and had for years. This is where he spent most of his time. He had brought his presents down here when he got up this morning, but had yet to open any thanks to Mike's call.

He instinctively reached to his left and flipped on the light switch as he opened the door, not even needing to feel for where it was. As the fluorescent lights flickered to life, the room came into view. It could best be described as a disaster. Directly across from the door was a L shaped computer desk, the leg of the L sticking out towards the door. The desk was littered with a random assortment of junk, though there were a great many Gundam models from Gundam Wing and Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz positioned around the desk. A fire place was the centerpiece of the wall opposite the door. There was a couch against the wall the light switch was on. A gold colored coffee table with a glass top sat in front of the couch. A wide variety of crap adorned most of the couch, only the seat closest to the TV was left clear. The TV was one of the older CRT types that was designed to sit on the floor and was set in a alcove in the middle of the wall at the far end of the room. More Gundam models, from the same series, sat atop the stereo system and the other other things against the wall to the right of the door. As for the floor, there was all manner of shit strewn over it, toys and packaging from toys, and who knew what else. There wasn't really a clear path around the room. Sad dived for the presents on the couch and pulled out Trish's gift. As he retrieved it, Trish and Jane stepped into the room.

A look of disgust crossed Jane's face, "How the hell can you live like this?" Mike bit back a laugh and shook his head.

Sad's head shot up, "Huh?" He looked around the room a little absently, "Oh, right. I'm used to it, I guess." He shrugged. Trish shook her head, Sad gave her a puzzled look before returning his gaze to the present. "So, you want me to open this, right?"

Trish let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes. Go ahead and open it already."

Sad took a deep breath, "Okay." He tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a cherry box. He gave Trish a confused look before opening the box. Inside were two glass spheres, one black, one magenta.

Mike darted over once Sad opened the box, "Holy shit, I've got two of those too. I mean, mine are different colors, but otherwise they look exactly the same. Same size, same sort of glass that doesn't really look like glass. I bought them at a tag sale a few weeks ago." He looked over to Trish, "Where'd you find these? What are they?"

Sad picked up the black sphere, it fit comfortably into his palm as he closed his hand around it. As his fingers enveloped it, a voice spoke in his head. It was slick and sly, the kind of voice that a fox would have, "Ah, Sad my boy, you and I, we're in business. So is Mike. Just two more left."

Sad's head snapped up and he looked around the room, "What..." No one else seemed to have heard anything, they were all giving him strange looks.

Trish spoke, "I don't know what those things are, and I don't know what yours are either Mike. All I know is that the ones I gave Sad have been in my family for a very long time. There's a bit of a family legend surrounding them."

"Wait, if they belong to your family, why are you giving them to me?" Sad's head was a jumble, first there was a voice in his head, and now Trish was giving him a family heirloom. What was going on?

Trish waved her head from side to side as she perched herself on the arm of the couch closest to the door, seeming to debate what to say next, "Well, that has to do with the family legend. See, we were given the orbs for safe keeping, to pass them on to the person that would use them. According to the legend, I'm the one to pass them on. And you Sad, you're the one I'm supposed to give them to."

"Um, why are you supposed to give them to me? And how do you know it's me?"

"Look, just trust me on this. You're the one that's supposed to get them, alright? There's no doubt in my mind about that." She snapped her mouth shut, unwilling to answer his other question.

Mike asked it again, "Okay, fine Trish, so Sad's the one you're supposed to give the orbs to. That's great. Why are you supposed to give them to him?"

Sad narrowed his eyes, "Yeah, what am I supposed to do with them?"

Trish laughed then, slightly hysterical, "You're not going to believe me."

Jane broke in, anger rising in her voice, "Goddammit Trish, out with it already. Why'd you give them to Sad, and what the hell does it have to do with the dream we all had?"

Trish sighed, tears starting to roll down her cheeks, "Sad's supposed to save the world with them, and I guess Mike is too, since he's got some orbs just like those."

The room was silent for a good two minutes. Sad and Mike both working their jaws but no sound coming out. Jane giving everyone else in the room incredulous stares. Finally, she spoke up, "Okay, fine, let's say Trish's story is true. That Sad, and Mike since he's got some orbs too are supposed to save the world. It makes sense that they had this dream that foretells some great calamity. But why the hell did Trish and I have it? We don't have any orbs."

Trish was laughing hysterically as tears streamed down her face, "Don't you get it yet Jane, all of us having the same dream. Four people, four orbs. It's not just Mike and Sad, all of us are part of this."

Jane froze staring at Trish in horror as the truth dawned on her. She nearly fell to her knees, catching herself by grabbing the top of the stereo with her left hand. Sad carefully set down the box, returning the black orb to it. His mind was a total blank, there wasn't a single thought in his head as he mechanically walked over to Trish and wrapped his arms around her. She collapsed against him, burying her face in his shoulder, her arms wrapping around him and her hands grasping his shoulders from behind, holding herself up. Mike just stood there silent.

That fox like voice broke out in Sad's head again, "Looks like you're going to get what you always wanted, Sad, my boy. You're going to get to save the world." The voice began to laugh as if it had just told the most hilarious joke ever. As Trish cried and laughed hysterically in his arms there still wasn't a single thought in Sad's head. Just the sound of that voice laughing.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

Well, things are certainly going a bit faster on the writing front these days. And things are starting to take off in the story. Hold on to your hats, it's going to be a bumpy ride, I think. Sorry that there were no Troopers this chapter, I know they're why you're reading this. There was a lot that needed to happen with the new characters for the story to progress. I promise the Troopers will be in the next chapter. Chapter 9 is called Serendipity.

Thanks for reading.

- Corlock Striker


	9. Chapter 9: Serendipity

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. You'll notice in the story that I use (POV Shift) and (Time Skip) to signal such things. This is due to this site not allowing me to make use of the publishing industry standard of a line with three asterisks to signal a change in POV and a skipped line to signal a time skip. I put those things in, and it takes them out. So, I had to resort to the above, instead of following standard practice within the publishing industry. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Nine: Serendipity  
By Corlock Striker

May 5, 2001 Larchmont, NY -

He set the food on the floor in the backseat and climbed into the passenger seat. Once he was settled his dad drove down the block a ways and made a left at a light. They wound through a few back streets before turning back on to Palmer Avenue, the street they had started on. Sad shook his head and rubbed his temple, the headache was starting to fade. It had come on abruptly, almost as soon as he stepped into Ray's. His dad glanced over at him, "You feeling okay?"

He dropped the hand from his head casually, "Yeah, I'm fine, just a headache. It's already starting to go away."

His dad frowned, "You seem to be getting those a lot lately. Maybe you should go to a doctor, see if it's migraines or something."

Sad scoffed, "Dad, the last time I had a headache was on my birthday. It's no big deal. I'm fine."

His father's eyes darted over to him again before going back to the road. Sad turned his head and looked out the window. He frowned, the last time he'd gotten a sudden headache had been on his birthday, when he'd had the dream. Was this one connected to that? If so, what did Ray's Cafe have to do with it? He let out a sigh, at least the pain really was starting to fade. It was almost completely gone now.

The four of them had discussed the dream and the orbs extensively since they'd realized what they meant. They also exhausted all research possibilities to try and find some information about the orbs or the dream. All they'd been able to figure out was that the whole thing was somehow tied to Norse culture. That fox like voice in his head laughed knowingly when they reached that conclusion but offered no further insight. They were all terrified and trying not to let the others know it. They had no idea what they were doing or how they were supposed to save the world.

Sad could feel himself coming apart at the seams, but he couldn't let the others see that. After all, he had apparently been the first one picked out for this task, he had to set the example. He hoped he was doing a good job. They pulled into the driveway and he and his dad got out of the car. Sad retrieved the food and followed his father into the house, closing the garage door as he stepped into the basement. Then it was up the stairs and into the kitchen where he set the food down on the island. He pulled out three plates and set them by the bag, as his dad was pulling everything out. His mom was sitting at the kitchen table doing a crossword. Once they figured out what everything was they divvied up the food, the three of them sharing what they ordered with each other.

Sad kept up his end of the conversation during dinner, telling his parents about school, about his friends. They asked a little about Trish. Sad told them that things were good, they were just friends. They finished dinner and Sad helped clean up a little. Then he went down into the basement to goof off. After a few hours alternating between surfing the web and watching TV he went upstairs to bed. As he drifted off to sleep, he dreamed.

He was in the basement, sitting at his computer desk putting together a model. He heard a sound and looked up. There was a man sitting on the couch, which was completely clear of junk. So was the rest of the room, there were just the pieces of the model he was putting together on his desk. The man had his right ankle resting on his left knee, his right leg parallel to the floor. He was a handsome man, dark hair slicked back, with a narrow face. He seemed almost stereotypically slick. Sad cocked his head to the side, "Who're you?"

When the man spoke, Sad instantly recognized his voice. It was that fox voice that had been taunting him the past month. "If I told you who I was, Sad, my boy, you wouldn't believe me. I'll leave that explanation to others."

Sad blurted out, "You're that fox voice!"

The man cocked his head, closing his eyes. Sad saw his eyes flick up behind his eyelids, a frown tugged at the corner of his lips. "Ah, so that is what the fox represents in your culture. Yes, I suppose that is a fitting totem for me. So, you can call me "that fox guy" for now. Now, back to the topic at hand, you've been wondering what those orbs are for, right? What you're supposed to do with them, how you're supposed to save the world. I can tell you where to go to get answers."

Sad narrowed his eyes, "If you know where I can get answers why didn't you say anything earlier? Why should I trust you?"

The man gave a cunning smile, "Well, because I didn't know where you could go to get them until tonight. As to why you should trust me. Well, do you really have any better ideas?" The man gave Sad a knowing smirk.

Sad sighed, "Alright, fine, you win. Where can I get these answers?"

The man smiled gregariously, "I knew you were a smart boy. Tomorrow, go back to Ray's Cafe, ask for Shu. Show him the orbs. Might as well have Mike come with you with his. Oh, and don't mention me until after you've shown him the orbs and told him about the dream. Show him the orbs first though, and ask to talk to him in private. Try not to let other people see the orbs. That'd be best."

Sad nodded and the man vanished. He turned back to the model and started working on it again. He didn't know what it was supposed to be.

(POV Shift)

May 6, 2001 Larchmont, NY -

Shu was in the back room of Ray's going over the accounts. He really hated this part of the job. He stuck the pen in his mouth and leaned back in his chair, resting his hands behind his head. There was a knock on the door. He pulled the pen out of his mouth, sitting up, scrambling to straighten his desk. "Come in."

Lin, the head waiter, stuck his head into the office, "Mr. Rei Fang, there's a boy here asking to speak with you. Says his name is Sad Smith. He has a friend with him. I tried to send them away, but they insisted that it was very important."

Shu arched an eyebrow. The boy from last night that Kayura and Jessica had asked him about was asking to see him? The boy had complained of a headache while in the restaurant. He suspected that Kayura and Jessica had experienced headaches as well, given they were lowering their hands from their temples when they asked about the boy. If he remembered right, Jessica and Kayura had given each other headaches the first time they met. Could Sad be one of the ones they were looking for? Was it really going to be that easy?

Lin gave him a worried look, "Should I send him away?"

Shu put an end to his thoughts and stood, "No, that's alright Lin, I'll go see him." Lin got out of the way as Shu stepped through the door. He made his way into the front of the restaurant, smiling at the guests eating lunch. He strode up to the small bar. Sad was standing there, as was another young man with curly brown hair down to his shoulders and a goatee. Shu stopped in front of Sad, "How can I help you, Sad?"

The boy's blue eyes pinched shut in pain as they darted around behind his glasses. He reached into his pocket and grasped something, "My friend and I would like to speak with you privately, Mr. Rei Fang." Sad pulled the hand out of his pocket and gave Shu a strategic glimpse of a palm sized black glass orb.

Shu's eyes widened and he glanced wildly around the restaurant. His hand shot out, clamping around Sad's arm. He turned back to the boy and hissed, "Put that away, quickly. Follow me." Shu turned and walked back through the restaurant, once more smiling to all the guests. He heard the faint sound of two sets of feet following behind him on the carpeted floor. He slipped into his tiny office, Sad and the other boy followed suit. As soon as they were inside he closed the door. "Where did you get that?"

Sad seemed taken aback by the demand in his voice, "I...it was a birthday present, along with this one." Sad pulled out the black orb from before and produced a magenta one from his other pocket. Shu's eyes widened. Sad shook his head slightly, as though trying to shake out some mild pain.

"Um, I bought these at a tag sale about two months ago." The other boy produced a white orb and lilac orb from his pockets. He directed a worried glance at Sad.

Shu collapsed back against the door, "Have either of you had any strange dreams lately?"

The two boys looked at each other, then Sad looked back at him, "Um, on my birthday, Mike and I, and two of our friends all had the same dream."

Shu leaned forward and grasped Sad's shoulders, "Did it feature a creature made of viking boats and a green dragon? Did it happen on March 23?"

The color drained from both boy's faces as both nodded. Shu darted over to his phone and punched a number. He waited a few moments, someone picked up. "Toma, is Kayura with you? Good. Listen, the two of you need to come back out to Larchmont, to my restaurant. Get Anubis, Rajura and Naaza too. I'll call the others. Why? I found two of them. And they know where two more are. They have four armors. Yes, really, two of them are in my office right now, with the armors. Now, hurry up."

Shu glanced back at the two boys, Sad was pinching the bridge of his nose. He turned to the phone. He called Ryo and had almost the same conversation. Then he called Seiji, after that Shin, and finally Jessica. He hung up the phone and looked to the two boys, "I think you two should call your friends that had the dream. Tell them to come here. There's a lot we need to discuss."

The boys looked at each other before each one pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. Sad told a girl named Trish to come to the restaurant, the boy Sad called Mike told a girl, Jane, the same thing. At least he thought they were girls. Once the boys hung up, Shu let out a sigh.

Mike put a hand on Sad's shoulder, "You okay? Another headache?"

Sad nodded and brushed Mike's hand off his shoulder, "Yeah. It's fine, this one isn't nearly as bad as the others."

Mike directed his questions at Shu, in a polite tone, "Um, I'm sorry, but what the hell is going on? What did you mean we have four armors? All we've got are glass orbs."

Shu smiled, "I'm not very good at explaining this kind of thing. It all goes a little over my head. Wait until my friends get here. They're much better at this sort of thing. Are you hungry?" The boys nodded and Shu called one of the cooks over. He studied the boys and told the chef what to make. He turned to Sad, he wished he understood what the boy's headaches had to do with all of this, they seemed related.

(POV Shift)

It started out as a dull, mild ache with just Shu there, then as each of his friends showed up, it got progressively worse. First was a guy with wild black hair and blue eyes they said was named Ryo, like the guy from Street Fighter. Then a guy with well kept brown hair who was Shin, he wondered if he knew his name was a part of someone's leg in English. After that was a blond guy who's hair covered one of his eyes, name was Hadji, Sad thought. He came with a woman who's name he couldn't remember. Sad was horrible with names. She was the only one of Shu's friends who's presence didn't seem to intensify his headache. Trish and Jane showed up next.

Shu's little office was getting very crowded. He told the staff a while ago to finish serving the remaining customers, and not seat anyone else. Once the last of the customers left, he moved them out onto the floor of the restaurant. Then three really weird guys showed up. One of them had like navy blue hair and a cross shaped scar around his left eye, his name was Anubis, Egyptian god, easy enough to remember. Along with him came a guy with green hair and like bug eyes, named Nala, maybe? The last of the trio was a guy with white hair and one eye, they called him Raja? All three of them looked completely uncomfortable in their clothing, oxfords and chinos.

When the guy with the white hair walked in he put a hand to his head for a moment. He caused the greatest increase in the intensity of Sad's headache. Mike was the first to greet him, "Ar, ahoy there, matey!" The guy narrowed his single eye at Mike. Shu and his friends looked at Mike horrified. Sad genuinely laughed for a second before the pain got too bad. Mike looked around at everyone puzzled, "What? He's a pirate, isn't he? I mean, he looks like a pirate." Mike looked a little embarrassed.

With that comment everyone but Raja broke out laughing. Raja snorted, "I am most certainly not a pirate. You would do well to remember that." He glared at Mike, before the effect was ruined by his hand going to his temple once more, very briefly. Then a guy with blue hair walked in, Sad needed to ask him where he got the dye, he'd been wanting to do his tips blue for a while. A woman with really long black hair, and another woman with shorter, but still long black hair accompanied the second blue haired guy. The two women's hands went to their heads as soon as they saw Sad and they stumbled back a few steps. Raja's hand went to his temple briefly.

It felt like fifteen bombs went off in Sad's head all at once. His brain splintered, the fragments stabbing at the inside of his skull. He let out a short lived but, extremely loud cry and his vision went black. The three new comers hadn't even gotten a chance to introduce themselves.

(POV Shift)

Ryo's eyes widened as the boy passed out as soon as Kayura and Jessica entered the restaurant, and that they staggered back upon seeing him. Plus Rajura seemed to get a headache simultaneously. The boy Mike, and the girl Trish both rushed over to their friend to check on him, the girl Jane following slowly after, offering a minimal amount of assistance. Ryo turned back to Jess and Kayura, "Okay, what the hell is with all these headaches?"

The boy Mike chimed in, "Yeah, why is Sad getting so many headaches lately?"

Rajura recovered first, "Your friend, this Sad," Rajura frowned as he said the name, as though it left a bad taste in his mouth, "he puts off an incredibly strong magical aura and he has no control over it. Jessica, Kayura and I are sensitive to such things, and so his presence gives us headaches. He is also sensitive to the auras of others, and without control and the ability to handle that perception, sensing these auras causes headaches. Everyone in this room, minus the three of you," Rajura pointed to the boy Mike, and the two girls, Trish and Jane, "have auras, due to our armors. Except for Jessica, she doesn't have an armor, but she has an aura that is only slightly less powerful than your friend's. Kayura and myself also have auras that are stronger than those of the others, though mine only slightly more so, and Kayura's halfway between mine and Jessica's."

Mike gave Rajura a bewildered look, "Okay, that's the second time someone has mentioned armors. What the hell are you talking about? Sad and I don't have any armors. All we've got are four glass orbs. And what the hell are you talking about, magical auras? Magic isn't real."

Jessica spoke, "No, Mike, magic is very real, as I've recently learned. And those glass orbs you have, they're the armors we're talking about." She looked around at the others. She looked to Ryo last, holding his gaze as she spoke, "Show them."

The nine of them each pulled out a different colored palm sized glass orb. The eyes of Mike, Trish and Jessica all widened. Trish managed to speak, after working some moisture back into her mouth, "Those look like the orbs I gave Sad, and that Mike bought."

Shu spoke up, "Yeah, we know. That's why I pulled Mike and Sad into my office and called everyone here."

Ryo spoke, "The four you have are part of a larger set. There are only fifteen of these orbs in the entire world. They are grouped into two sets within the whole set. One set of nine, which is then grouped into two smaller sets of five and four. Those are the nine we have. Then there's a set of six, of which Sad and Mike have four. We don't know where the remaining two are. We were hoping you four might have some idea about that."

Jane broke in, a little annoyed, "Alright, fine, so you guys have orbs that look like the ones that Mike and Sad have, great, wonderful even! Why the hell do you keep calling them armors?! They're just glass orbs!"

All ten of them sighed, Ryo looked to Shu, "It okay if we do it in here?"

Shu paled a little and looked around the restaurant, "Um, let's push all the tables against the walls."

Ryo nodded. Shin spoke up, "Don't you think we should wake up Sad first. That way we don't have to explain it a second time."

Kayura and Jessica looked at each other and nodded, both walked over to Sad. Trish was kneeling by him, his head resting on her thighs. Mike edged closer to her, making room for Jessica on the left side of Sad. Jessica and Kayura knelt down on either side of Sad, each placing a hand in the middle of his chest, Kayura's on top of Jessica's.

Mike looked at them, his brow knotting, "Um, what are you doing?"

Ryo, Toma and Rajura all snapped their heads towards the boy and hissed for him to be quiet. He pulled back and snapped his mouth shut with a soft click. Kayura and Jessica closed their eyes. A soft white glow emanated from their hands and seemed to infuse Sad. It gradually spread over his entire body. As it did he let out a soft moan and rolled his head from side to side. His eyes fluttered open, darting around the room. He tried to push himself up, Jessica and Kayura each put a hand to a shoulder and stopped him.

"Don't." A simple command from Kayura as she got to her feet. She looked to Jessica, "You can keep him from passing out again." It was almost a question, but more of an order.

Jessica nodded and turned her attention to Sad, "You need some time to recover. It's best you lay down for a little longer." Ryo smiled, at least she had a decent bedside manner.

Kayura looked to Rajura, "One of us will have to train him."

The one eyed warlord nodded.

Sad burst out, pointing at Rajura, "Him, Raja. Ow!" Sad rubbed at the back of his head like he'd just been smacked. Kayura glared at Rajura, he looked at her in surprise. His wide eyed stare professing his innocence. "Sorry, Rajura, not Raja. I'm horrible with names. Rajura's supposed to train me."

Kayura looked down at Sad, arching an eyebrow, "And what makes you think you know anything about this sort of thing?"

Sad gave her a wide eyed stare, and spoke, embarassed, "I don't, but the fox guy in my head, he says he knows plenty about this stuff. He says that Rajura's specialty is illusions and that's what I need to learn. What I'm going to be best at."

Everyone gave Sad a worried look. Ryo really hoped the kid wasn't crazy, that would be problematic. Kayura was the first to give voice to the common question, "Fox guy?"

A flush came to Sad's cheeks and he looked off to his right before answering, "Yeah, I don't know his name. His voice sounds like what I imagine a fox would sound like, and he looks slick. Like a really good used car salesman or something. He didn't tell me his actual name, but he said that "That Fox Guy" would do." Sad shrugged, "Said the fox was a fitting totem for him. Whatever that means. He's the one who told me to come down here with Mike and the orbs and ask to talk to Shu. Said we'd be able to get answers about them and what we were supposed to do."

Jessica looked up at Kayura, comprehension seeming to dawn in her eyes, she spoke a single word, "Loki."

Kayura tossed back her head, looking to the ceiling, letting out a sigh. "Right, of course. You told us he'd been reborn and just come into his power. That's who this kid is. He's Loki."

Sad's friends and Sad looked at them in disbelief. Trish spoke up, "What the hell are you talking about? Who's Loki? And Sad is Sad, not anyone else."

Sad closed his eyes for a moment, banging the back of his head lightly against Trish's thighs, "Loki is the Norse god of mischief. No wonder the guy sounds like a fox and looks so slick. Ugh, it makes so much sense now. Well, at least who he is makes sense. What he's doing in my head, not so much."

Jessica sighed, "It's a long story. We'll explain it later. First we're going to show you why we keep calling those orbs armors."

Shu broke in hurriedly, "Yeah, but before we do that, you guys push the tables out of the way. I'm going to tell the staff to go home and have them use the back door." Shu rushed off. The rest of them started pushing the tables out of the way, Kayura supervised. Mike and Trish stayed close to Sad, Jane close to Mike. Once the tables were out of the way, Shu returned. Everyone pulled out their orb again. Kayura, Anubis, Naaza and Rajura all gripped theirs tightly, shutting their eyes. A brief flash of light and they were standing in their sub-armors.

Ryo, and the others held back their snickers as best they could. The other four glared at them. Then they all summoned their armors. Ryo started, "_Armament: Wildfire!_"

Next came Toma, "_Armament: Heavens!_"

Seiji, "_Armament: Nimbus!_"

Shin, "_Armament: Torrent!_"

Shu, "_Armament: Stone!_"

A flash of light engulfed each of them as they called out for their armors. When it faded they were revealed standing in mostly white armors with slight accents of color, each had a different color. Ryo's was red, Seiji's green, Toma's a dark blue, Shin's a light blue and Shu's orange. Their armor designs seemed drawn from traditional samurai armor. Kayura and the others looked at their armors a little confused. Ryo smirked, he'd forgotten that they hadn't seen the armors that Suzunagi reforged after she destroyed their old ones. Getting over their momentary shock, the four summoned their armors as well.

Kayura was first, "_Armament: Oni!_"

Then Anubis, "_Armament: Black Jackal!_"

Naaza, "_Armament: Spitting Cobra!_"

Rajura, "_Armament: Phantom!_"

After a flash of light, the four were revealed in their armors, the same ones they had used both for and against Arago. Ryo and the others couldn't help but snicker.

Anubis narrowed his eyes at the five of them, "What is so funny?"

Toma answered for them, "Sorry, it's just that your armors look like they're straight out of a bad 80's anime."

Kayura and the Mashou glared at Toma and the other troopers.

Mike interrupted, "What the hell? Where did those come from?"

Sad let out a groan and closed his eyes, "The orbs, Mike, the orbs. That's what they're for. Apparently, we've got armors too. I guess that means we're supposed to fight someone or something to help save the world."

Ryo smirked and leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the top of one of his twin swords, "How very astute of you! Someone get the boy a prize!" He looked around at the others, grinning widely. They were all laughing.

Jessica smiled, slightly amused before shooting him a disapproving look.

Jane and Trish glared at him, the smile faded from his face. Jane spat out, "You mind explaining everything now?"

Ryo opened his mouth, but Jessica cleared her throat, "It would be best if I did it." Jessica then proceeded to give the four the history lesson she had given the others earlier about Odin. She also threw in a short overview of the fight with Arago.

Once Jessica finished, Ryo got down to business,"So, now that that's out of the way, do any of you know how to fight?"

Sad looked up at him, "Well, I took boxing lessons for a few years, so I know how to throw a punch with my body weight behind it. I was never very good in the spars though, kinda froze up. Trish can attest to that." Ryo's demeanor started off rather enthused but quickly darkened as Sad continued. So did the demeanor of the others in the room.

"Yeah, he, uh, got into an altercation with this kid at school. Guy broke one of his arms, one of his legs, and a few ribs. Sad didn't really fight back." Trish's words demoralized Ryo even further.

"I fence, started out with saber, which is the slashing weapon. But when I switched schools I had to switch to foil, a thrusting weapon, RCDS only teaches foil. Other than that, Mike and I have fooled around with staffs and swords in my backyard all our lives. So, we kinda know how to do flashy stuff, like twirls and shit, but nothing really practical, I'd say. Right?"

Mike nodded, "Yeah, I mean, I took karate lessons when I was eight or nine for a few years, but didn't keep it up for very long. I have two brothers, one older, one younger, so we occasionally wrestle and shit, but not that often. I wouldn't say I have much practice with that." Ryo's demeanor went up and down with Mike's statement, ending on a rather low note.

"Um, I did gymnastics for most of my life, up until seventh grade about, and I still take dance classes. So, I mean I guess I'm pretty agile and flexible, but I've never taken any martial arts classes or anything." Trish's statements sent Ryo and the others deeper into their funk.

"Yeah, I'm in the same boat as Trish," Jane was perched on a chair legs crossed, inspecting her nails.

Seiji piped in with a question, a marginal note of hope in his voice, "Do any of you know how to meditate at least?"

"No," a flat reply from Trish.

"Nope," Jane's completely disinterested reply.

"Nah," Mike's dejected reply.

"Nyet," that was Sad.

Ryo's shoulders were nearly level with the bottom of his ribcage. He looked up towards the ceiling and let out a deep sigh. The others all groaned, Ryo gave voice to their common thought, "We are so fucked."

Jane looked over to Seiji, seeming to just now to fully register his question, "Wait, what does meditation even have to do with this?"

Seiji shrugged with his eyebrows and he tilted his head to the side, "The ability to achieve the inner calm of a meditative state is necessary in order to summon your armor. It seems like we have a lot of work to do. I hope we have enough time."

Ryo nodded, "Um, do any of you four go to school together?"

Sad nodded, "Yeah, Trish and I are in the same grade at Rye Country Day School. And Mike and Jane are in the same grade at Mamaroneck High School." The three nodded in agreement.

Ryo let out a relieved sigh, "Okay, that makes things a little easier. Um, Kayura, Anubis, Naaza, Rajura, I'm going to ask the four of you to watch these four 24/7 since you have the availability for that. Rajura, since you're supposed to train Sad, you're on him, and, uh, I don't know..." Ryo looked at Trish, "Anubis, you've got Trish." Ryo turned to the two remaining Mashou. He definitely couldn't give Naaza to Jane, he'd just freak her out, so he was with Mike. That left Kayura for Jane. Yeah, that should work. "Alright, Kayura, you've got Jane, and Naaza, you've got Mike."

Jessica chimed in, "Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but I think maybe we should figure out which armor belongs to who. Don't you?"

Ryo was caught off guard, "Uh, yeah, that's a good idea. Let's do that then." He paused for a moment and scratched his head, "Uh, how do we do that?"

Jessica smiled, "Allow me." She turned to Sad, "Sad, may I please see those orbs you have?"

Sad nodded and handed her a black orb and a magenta orb. Jessica took them, she held the magenta one to his forehead first and frowned. Then she held the black one to his forehead, a smile forming, "This one is yours." She handed it to Sad. As Trish was the closest to her, she held the magenta orb to her forehead, another smile. Ryo loved her smile. She handed the orb to Trish, "This belongs to you."

Jessica turned to face Mike, without her needing to ask he handed her two orbs, one white the other lilac. Jessica smirked and held the white one to his forehead, "This one belongs with you." She handed it to him. She got up and walked over to Jane and held the lilac one to her forehead, "And as I thought, this one is yours."

Jane took the orb from Jessica and looked at Trish's, "Of course the girls get the pink and purple ones." She rolled her eyes in disgust.

Jessica smiled and chuckled, "You'll have to forgive Kaos. The armors were created a few hundred years ago. He wouldn't have seen anything sexist about the color choice."

"Yeah, whatever," Jane huffed, slipping the orb into her purse.

Ryo took over the conversation again, "Uh, yeah, those of you watching these four, I guess you should try and teach them whatever you can. We'll try and help out with that in the evenings too. Hell, I guess we could start training them today. I suppose we start with meditation, and hand to hand, since we don't know what their weapons are yet." The others nodded, "So, who wants who?" Sad, Trish, Mike and Jane gave the nine of them very worried glances.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

I told you the troopers would be in this chapter. Plus, the chapters are coming out a lot faster now, aren't they? I apologize for the horrendous typos in the latest chapters. I felt guilty about how long there had been between chapter five and six being posted, so I put the most recent chapters up immediately after I finished them. I have since gone back and edited them. I do that for all the chapters actually, they're all continually being revised, so mistakes will be corrected, eventually.

Anyway things are really starting to take off. Everything is about to come to a head. I hope you've been enjoying the story so far and that it delivers on your expectations. Chapter 10 is called Impact.

Thanks for reading.

- Corlock Striker


	10. Chapter 10: Impact

Okay, basic disclaimer: the Samurai Troopers, Warlords, Kayura, Nasté, Jun, White Blaze, and Kaos do not belong to me; they belong to some Japanese company that makes a lot of money off of me. Anything that ain't from the show or credited to something else that appears in my stories belongs to me, that's all.

As to the story, I do hope you enjoy it. You'll notice in the story that I use (POV Shift) and (Time Skip) to signal such things. This is due to this site not allowing me to make use of the publishing industry standard of a line with three asterisks to signal a change in POV and a skipped line to signal a time skip. I put those things in, and it takes them out. So, I had to resort to the above, instead of following standard practice within the publishing industry. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, by the way.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Ten: Impact  
By Corlock Striker

May 16, 2001 Rye, NY -

"Patricia O'Connor, wake up." She let out a groan of protest as she turned over onto her stomach, burying her face in a pillow. She felt around absently before grasping another a pillow. She flung it at the voice. It was Anubis, no doubt about it. The guy was a fucking ninja. She didn't know how he got into her room every morning the past ten days. She made sure all the windows and doors were locked at night. The pillow came flying back and hit her in the head immediately after she threw it. She groaned once more and felt the sheet get ripped off her bed. "Patricia O'Connor, it is time to wake up."

Anubis, Rajura and Naaza all had the same stick up their collective asses. They refused to call her Trish, and called Sad Sadlier and Mike Michael. The names they normally used were too informal, apparently. Kayura didn't seem to have any problem using them. She placed her hands on either side of her shoulders and peeled her torso off the bed, keeping her lower body in place. She looked over at the alarm clock, it was 4 am. Fucking Ryo! Oh, train them whenever you have the chance, blah, blah, blah. She had the distinct impression that Ryo knew exactly how the bodyguards he set the four of them would take that.

She flopped back down onto the bed and rolled over onto her back, swinging her legs out over the side of the bed and rolling her hips while bringing her torso up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned a few times. She rocked back but caught herself before she fell back onto the bed. She hurt everywhere. Anubis had been taking every opportunity he could get to train her in some manner. Running, weight training, sparring, meditation, ugh. She got to her feet and stretched her arms out to either side.

"Hurry up, Patricia O'Connor, we have little time to waist."

She flipped him off and trudged over to the bathroom and shut the door. Resting her hands on the sink top she looked in the mirror. Her auburn hair was a total mess, sticking out at all sorts of weird angles. She always had horrible bedhead. Her eyes were starting to get dark circles, thanks to her training. Anubis was only letting her have six hours of sleep a night, fucking bastard. She needed at least 8 to function properly, ten or more was ideal. She peeled off her baby tee, it had a faded Strawberry Shortcake on it. Her upper body was blotched all over with bruises. She slipped out of her pajamas pants next, her lower body was no better. Shivering slightly she turned on her shower, making sure it was just hot enough.

She slipped under the water and let out a relaxing sigh, there was a knock at the door. Fuck! Couldn't he let her relax for a few minutes? Would it kill anyone? He'd tell her that it would, of course. Fuck! She hurriedly shampooed her hair and scrubbed herself with soap a little too aggressively, wincing as a result. Rinsing off she turned off the water and fell out of the shower, grabbing a towel along with her balance. She dried off herself and her hair, emerging from the shower wrapped in a towel.

Anubis was standing just outside the door, tapping his right foot impatiently, "You have five minutes."

She rolled her eyes and pushed him out of the way. She shot him a withering glare, tugging lightly at the join of her towel to illustrate her point, "You mind?"

He glared at her before quietly opening the door and stepping into the hallway. It was a good thing neither of her parents were ever up this early. Though, given that Anubis seemed completely invisible to everyone at school even though he was walking right behind her, she wasn't sure if that would matter. Same went with Rajura and Sad and Jane and Kayura. How they hell did that do that shit? Mike said that Naaza, the green haired, bug eyed freak, actually had to hide himself. Trish let the towel drop to the floor and pulled on a sports bra followed by a white baby tee. She pulled on some underwear and a pair of jogging pants along with a pair of ankle socks. She slipped into her sneakers and knelt down to tie them.

She grabbed up a change of clothes and her make up bag, stepping out of her room. Anubis nodded and walked down the hall. Trish stuck her tongue out at his back and followed him. She grabbed a banana from the kitchen and walked to her car, unlocking it by remote. She drove to school. Rajura and Anubis had found out about the gym at RCDS after their first day there and had since insisted that Trish and Sad get there at 5 am to work out before school. They threw in some hand to hand training as well.

Sad grumbled about it just as much as she did. He did admit that them finding out about the gym had one upside. It meant Rajura had scrapped the idea of Sad jogging from his house in Larchmont to the school in Rye in the mornings. These assholes were insane! She pulled into the junior lot and got out of her car, grabbing her bags. There were way too many of them, purse, book bag, make up bag, change of clothes. Anubis, of course, didn't offer to take any of them. She walked over to the athletic center and up into the gym, Sad walking in just as she did. He gave her a weak smile that she returned, and they both sighed.

Sad was looking pretty good these days, she realized. He'd lost a fair amount of weight in the hospital and since his birthday the rest seemed to have fallen off. Well, today was the last day of school, RCDS being private let out for the summer fairly early. The end of school might put an end to Anubis waking her up at 4 am. Though somehow she thought that was too much to hope for. Anubis and Rajura had them start out with hand to hand training, since no one else was there. That way they didn't have to make themselves invisible. That would look really weird. She still wanted to know how they did that. After an hour of that, they went to the weights, as people started arriving.

Anubis and Rajura went invisible, whispering into their ears what exercises they were supposed to do. The ones they chose seemed decidedly old school, and made use mostly of free weights or their own body weight. After an hour of that, the two of them gave Sad and her an hour to shower and change in the locker rooms. Trish emerged dressed in the latest trends, bruises carefully covered, her hair and make up perfect.

Sad rolled out of the locker room his hair still a mess from towel drying and in the same sorts of t-shirts and jeans he'd been wearing to school since ninth grade. They were probably the same sorts of clothes he'd been wearing before he came to RCDS in seventh grade. For seventh and eighth grade at RCDS he'd been forced to wear khakis and polo shirts, the dress code for the middle school. In the upper school, t-shirts and jeans were allowed. She strongly suspected that Sad's wardrobe had reverted rather than re-invented itself.

She smiled, she kind of liked that about Sad, that he didn't let other people dictate what he wore. He smiled back at her awkwardly, likely unsure why she was smiling. She walked over and took his hand, planting a kiss on his cheek. He gave her a bewildered look. His head darted around, checking to see if anyone saw. Probably more concerned about what that would do to her reputation than his own. Of course it wasn't like his could get any worse. She cupped his chin in one hand and pulled his gaze back to hers, "Let them see, I don't care. You understand?"

The slate blue eyes behind his glasses, the ones that belonged to the sad, lost little boy, gave her a wide eyed stare. He gave a hesitant nod, understanding but not fully believing what she was saying. She smiled softly, he had been hurt so badly in the past, made to believe he was worthless. He couldn't believe that anyone wanted to be with him. He was never going to make the first move, no matter how long she waited or how many hints she dropped. She leaned forward, just lifting her heels off the ground. He must have stopped slouching, why hadn't she noticed? She pressed her lips to his, closing her eyes.

She felt his reaction through the hand on his chin. He went rigid, frozen for a fraction of a second. His hands grasped her shoulders and pulled her away from him. He gave her a blank stare, again he looked to see if anyone had seen. She put a hand on either side of his head, "Sad, look at me." He kept looking around, frantic. "Shh, Sad, calm down, it's okay. Just look at me." The constant swivel of his head slowed, "That's it, just calm down. Look at me. Only at me." His head stopped moving and he locked eyes with her. She saw both sets of eyes from her dream in his gaze and smiled. "Sad, in everything else you do, you don't give a damn what other people think. Why do you care now?"

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I don't want people mocking you. They're going to, you know. Either to hurt you, or to hurt me. They're going to come after both of us now, with everything they've got. They know you like me, and that I like you now. You shouldn't have done that." He was still tense, on edge, even though he calmed down enough to look in her eyes.

She smiled, "So, you like me, huh? Well, at least I finally got you to say it. Sad, it's the last day of school, it's only a half day. What's the worst they can say or do? Besides, I can handle a little teasing." She didn't bother mentioning that he didn't say he was terrified of getting hurt himself. Whether he did that out of pride, reluctance or ignorance she wasn't quite sure.

His eyes widened as he blew out a sigh, "It's not going to be a little teasing. It's never a little teasing, not with me."

"Oh, Sad, do you think I didn't do some prep work for this? I'm one of the populars, remember?"

"Yeah, that's why it's going to be so bad."

She laughed, "I know the ins and outs of the social aspects of this school Sad. I've lived and breathed them for years. I've tried keep your secrets, but I let my girlfriends in a little." He looked at her horrified, anger kindling in his eyes. She needed to move quickly, "Sad, I'm sorry, but I had to. If I hadn't, then everything you're afraid is going to happen would. I needed to prepare the way. Besides, do you know how hard it is not to talk about the guy you like with your girlfriends? I mean it's probably the same for you with your friends when it comes to a girl you like."

"Uh, no. I don't talk about that kind of stuff with anyone."

"Right, you wouldn't," it was hard for her to imagine being so closed. "Sorry, bad analogy. Look, I've always been very open about that stuff with my friends. I had to tell them something. If I didn't tell them anything, I would have blurted out everything at some point. This way, I was able to choose exactly what to tell them." This was a delicate process, she had to go fast enough that he wouldn't interrupt but slow enough that he wouldn't realize what she was doing. He recognized when he was being manipulated faster than people expected. "I only told them about the kind of person you really are, Sad, and how you make me feel. Nothing else. I promise, it's not going to be as bad as you think."

Sad took a deep breath, holding it. He closed his eyes and let the breath out slowly. He opened his eyes, "If you say so."

"I do," She planted another kiss on his lips. This time he let her choose when to end it, which was rather abruptly as Rajura chimed in on their conversation.

"Neither of you have anything to worry about. I took the liberty of masking your actions from others. They think you've both been talking the whole time. Such displays are best done in private." Trish wanted to strangle him, she had planned for this. She needed to help Sad with his fear of opening up to people. Rajura just ruined everything. Shockingly, oh wait, no it wasn't, all the tension melted out of Sad with Rajura's revelation.

"Yes, it's very unseemly to do such things in public," that was Anubis. They were both such prudes. "Also, the two of you should hurry. You have five minutes until that class you call house starts."

Sad looked down at his watch, a digital one made by Shark, "Shit, he's right. We need to go." He untangled himself from her, "Okay Rajura, you can drop the mask now, I guess."

"You may do as you wish, I will blend whatever actions you take next into my illusion." Sad nodded and rushed off.

Trish crossed her arms and tapped her foot, glaring at where she thought Anubis and Rajura were.

"Patricia O'Connor, you must get to class," Anubis again.

"Rajura, you and I are going to have to have a long talk later. A _very_ long talk." She let out a huff and stormed off after Sad. She just barely saw the flash of his backpack as it disappeared into the Pinkham building. As usual he had held the door for someone, but as soon as they were inside he let it shut and dipped in himself. She scowled and hurried to house. At least it was just a half day.

(POV Shift)

May 18, 2001 Larchmont, NY -

The two dogs scurried out of the bed. Gadget, on the other hand, let out a hiss, back arching and fur rising. He groaned, Naaza was here to wake him. At least the asshole had learned not to get too close when Gadget was like this. Yeah, Gadget may have been declawed when they adopted him from the shelter, but that didn't stop him from climbing trees. He wrapped his front paws around the trunk and pushed himself up with his back paws, catching himself at a higher point with his front paws, like a lumberjack. Nor did his lack of front claws stop him from killing rabbits and other animals. He just smacked their heads so their necks twisted and broke. Plus Gadget still had his teeth. Yeah, Gadget was a bad ass of a cat and he loved Mike.

The first time Naaza had attempted to wake Mike early, Gadget had pounced on his head, back claws scratching at his face as his teeth sunk into his scalp and his front paws pummeled him. Since then, Naaza had taken to poking him with a stick and he even did that gingerly, though incessantly, like he was doing now. Mike forced himself awake and into a sitting position. He placed a hand on Gadget's head and pet him. Gadget immediately calmed down and purred. Mike ran a hand through his hair, ugh it was wet. Gadget must have groomed him again last night.

"That is a very strange cat you have."

Mike rolled his eyes as he stood. He shuffled out into the hall and then the bathroom. A few minutes later he returned to his bedroom and finished drying off. He had bruises all over his body and it hurt to do just about anything. Naaza had been working him way too hard for the past two weeks. He thought that maybe he was getting better at fighting, but he wasn't sure. Neither Naaza nor Kayura seemed particularly pleased with the progress he and Jane were making. Though Toma and Shu said they were improving greatly, as did Ryo, though he alternated between helping him and Jane and helping Trish and Sad.

He finished getting dressed and walked outside, it was time for his morning run according to Naaza's training program. He sighed and started to jog. Naaza kept pushing him to run faster for the whole hour. Then it was conditioning, making use of his own body weight. Then another shower and it was off to school. After that came meditation practice and then hand to hand training, both with Jane, and all five of their instructors. Ryo got a call in the middle of the hand to hand.

"Yeah Jess, it's me. What's up?" Ryo had been spending a lot of time with Jessica from what Mike heard. Ryo had a habit of pacing while on his cell, most people did. As he listened to Jess his pacing slowed then came to a screeching halt. "You're sure? Absolutely sure? No, I trust you. Yes, I believe you. It's just, I mean, with this, we can't make any mistakes. Okay, right, I'll let the others know. Yeah, I'll talk to you later, bye." Ryo folded his phone and slipped it into his pocket. "Alright, so good news, we've got a date and location for Odin's initial attack."

Mike and Jane both looked at each other, Ryo's tone suggested he was sugarcoating the message from Jess. It was probably sooner than they were hoping, like in a week. The troopers said they needed at least two more weeks to get the four of them in acceptable fighting condition. They both looked at Ryo suspiciously.

Toma asked the question on everyone's mind, "How soon Ryo?"

He laughed nervously, "Times Square, tomorrow, about noon."

Everyone shouted at once, "TOMORROW?!"

Ryo smiled nervously, "Yup, that's what Jess and her grandmother said. Tomorrow, about noon, Times Square."

Mike and Jane looked at each other, this was not good.

A resounding, "Fuck!" Passed the lips of the other four people in the room.

Ryo pulled out his phone and called Seiji. Hanging up he looked to everyone, "Well, the others should be here in ten or fifteen minutes."

And sure enough they arrived at Ryo's rented home in Rye within ten minutes. Sad and Trish looked ashen. As soon as they arrived Sad started talking, from Seiji's reaction it seemed he was continuing a conversation, "Look, I've got to warn my family, we all do. I can't just let something like this happen to them. I have to save them!"

Ryo looked at Sad, a mournful expression on his face, "Sad, you can't save them. I'm sorry, but it's true. I know Seiji and Shin told you the same thing. So am I. So will Toma and Shu. We tried to warn our families before Arago's attack, they didn't believe us. How are you going to convince your parents and your sisters that a Norse god is going to attack New York and that their only hope is to stay near you? You're eighteen and gods aren't real. Neither is magic. The four of you can't even consistently summon your sub-armors, let alone your full armors! So, how exactly are you going to convince them?"

Sad looked at Ryo defeated, "But I have to do something..."

Ryo smiled sadly, "You are Sad. You're going to help us fight, and we're going to win. That's the best thing you can do. It's all you can do. But if it makes you feel any better, you can probably save some of your other friends. Tell them to come over to your house tomorrow, then take them to Jessica's grandmother's house. Jessica and her will protect them. Same goes for the rest of you. I just hope the last two armor bearers miraculously show up tomorrow. Are you guys sure you don't know anything about them? Anything weird gone on lately?"

Sad looked over at him, "Mike, we're idiots. Or at least I am."

"What are you talking about? Oh, shit, we are."

The others looked between the two of them, Kayura burst in, "What?! What did you just remember?!"

They both spoke at the same time, "Jason."

Everyone spoke with one voice, "Jason?"

Sad and Mike continued speaking in unison, "He's a friend of ours. He went missing in February. We haven't seen his family since April. We got so caught up in trying to figure out that dream and what we were supposed to do with the orbs. We completely forgot about him. Shit." They looked at each other horrified that they completely forgot their missing friend.

Sad smacked himself in the forehead with the heel of his palm, "Idiot! He came to see me a few days before he went missing. Wanted my help with trying to find that girl that went missing in August, remember that story, Mike? And how her family went missing a little after Jason went AWOL?"

Mike nodded.

Ryo cut in, "Wait, you're telling me that a boy and a girl close to your age both went mysteriously missing and that their families did too? Why didn't you mention this before?"

Sad and Mike both looked extremely embarrassed as they answered, "Well, there was the dream that freaked us out. Then trying to figure out what the orbs were for. Then you guys showed up and started training us non-stop. It just kind of got pushed out of our heads. Odin has them doesn't he?"

Seiji nodded, "Yes, that is the most likely scenario. I'm sorry."

"Fuck," they both said it almost under their breath, their voices dripping with guilt. They closed their eyes and their shoulders dropped.

Ryo's voice came through, calm and reassuring, "Hey, it's okay. It's not either of yours fault. They both went missing before we even got here, before you guys even knew what was going on. Plus, you guys couldn't have done anything to stop it. You didn't know how to fight, didn't know you had armors, and you certainly didn't know how to summon them. At least Odin didn't get you. We can save them. Toma and I had to do it for the others. This time we've got way more people to help. We'll save your friend, and the girl too. No sweat. Right guys?"

The others all voiced their assent, trying to sound as supportive as they could. Mike hoped it was going to be as easy as they were trying to make it sound.

(POV Shift)

May 19, 2001 New York, NY -

Times Square was packed, throngs of people moving in every direction. It was almost impossible to move. Anubis cringed as the mass of humanity flowed around their small group. They huddled together by the bleachers in the middle of the square, below a large video screen. He smirked, Rajura had chosen to be as far from Patrica as he could, while still being in the group. The girl was starring daggers at the one eyed warrior. She shot a death glare at Anubis and he found himself swallowing air as he inched towards Rajura. They hadn't expected the girl to turn into a force of nature when she confronted them about Rajura masking the kisses she and Sadlier had shared at school.

They each had been recruited by Arago during the Waring States period in Japan, centuries ago. How were they to know that kissing in public was acceptable? In their time such an act was reserved for the most private of settings. Rajura had acted to ensure neither of the two was considered improper. The girl had yet to forgive them and after the "talk" they had, both were walking gingerly around her. She did look rather uncomfortable though, as did Sadlier, Michael and Jane. The four were wearing their sub-armors under their clothes. Ryo and they had decided this was necessary as the four still couldn't summon them reliably. Sadly, none of the four had yet been able to summon their full armors.

The nine of them had agreed to work together to make sure nothing too bad happened to the four teenagers. Anubis looked over to Ryo, the trooper's brow was knit with worry and his blue eyes darted about. He and his friends made a circle around his tiger, which Rajura needed to mask from the public. The fool boy wouldn't go anywhere without the beast, regardless of the attention it attracted. Anubis traced the scar over his left eye, glancing to one of the many prominent clocks. It was a few minutes until noon. He looked to the sky, it was clear and peaceful. Perhaps Jessica had been wrong?

Well, they couldn't ask her for confirmation. She was back in Larchmont at her Grandmother's house, along with two of Sadlier's friends, and one of Michael's. The rest of their friends had been busy. After all, it wasn't like the world was about to end or anything. They'd get together next weekend. At least that's what the two had told them their friends had said. The same went for all of Patricia's friends. As for Jane, none of her friends were answering her calls or returning them. He didn't quite understand why, though she didn't seem surprised by it. It was just a minute until noon. He looked back to the sky. It began to darken.

Gray clouds gathered, swirling into a thick blanket over the city. The city was cloaked in night in a matter of seconds. Anubis smiled, he felt much more comfortable. The lighted signs all over Times Square flickered then went blank. The throngs of people stopped, looking around in a panic. Bolts of lighting streaked the sky. The largest landing on the roof of the building with the video screen behind them. They turned to face it, craning their necks to see, as did the crowd.

Ten figures stood atop the building, one stepped up to the ledge. He wore bright red armor trimmed in silver, Anubis thought a helmet hung from his waist, a large bushy white beard decorated his chin. Those were all the details that Anubis could make out from this distance. The man's voice boomed out over the assembled masses, windows shattered, "People of New York, we are Odin! King of the Gods! You have forgotten us! This is unacceptable! Bow down in worship now, or be destroyed!"

Screams of panic flooded the air and people ran in every direction, falling over each other. The thirteen of them stayed in place. Sadlier, Michael, Patrica and Jane did have to be held back. They wished to go and help those who had fallen. Admirable, but there was more important work to do. Police officers scrambled to draw their guns, taking aim at the eight figures and pulling the triggers. No shots rang out. The few soldiers in the recruiting office hurried out with automatic weapons. Those too refused to fire. Soldiers and police officers alike looked at their guns in disbelief.

Anubis looked to Ryo, the Trooper nodded. The nine of them summoned their armors, the other four ripped off their clothes, revealing their sub-armors. Rajura dropped the glamor around White Blaze. The tiger roared out his defiance as Ryo leaped to the top of the bleachers. The people around them fled as fast as they could, leaving a vacant space around the group. Anubis let out a relieved sigh.

Drawing one of his swords, Ryo called out their defiance, "You want New York, Odin? You have to deal with us first!"

Odin's gaze dropped down to the thirteen of them, Anubis actually felt it fix on them. "Ah, we see that you have all kindly shown up. How convenient. We would not expect the thirteen of you to bow, not yet. But we imagine you have been wondering where Heimdallr and Diana are, yes? Allow us to assist you."

Two more figures stepped forward, they wore armors that were similar in design to those that he, Rajura, Naaza and Kayura wore. One called out, "I am Heimdallr, servant of Odin, kneel or be knelt!"

Sadlier and Michael let out strangled cries, "That's Jason's voice."

There was a grin in Odin's voice, "Heimdallr speaks true. If you do not kneel of your own accord, we have means to make you kneel. Most effective means."

Ryo called out once more, "Yeah, sorry, that arrangement doesn't work for us. How about you kneel instead. Because that's how this is going to end."

Odin shook his head, "We tried to be reasonable." He snapped his fingers. Hundreds of lightning bolts struck the ground. An armored soldier appearing where each one landed.

Shu grinned, "Awesome, tin cans! Let's do it guys!"

The nine of them readied their weapons, while the four newest Troopers fumbled into fighting stances. Half of the "tin cans" as Shu called them began rounding up people and hauling them off to the gods only knew where. The other half approached, weapons ready. Counting their numbers, Anubis grinned. He liked these odds.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

So things are really starting to take off. I hope you've been enjoying the story so far and that it delivers on your expectations. Chapter 11 is called Scattered.

Thanks for reading.

- Corlock Striker


	11. Chapter 11: Scattered

Alright, by this point I think you all know the drill with the disclaimer that's been at the beginning of the first ten chapters. So we'll skip that bit. We'll also skip the bit about why I'm not using standard Publishing Industry formatting. All that leaves for me to say is, enjoy.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Eleven: Scattered  
By Corlock Striker

May 19, 2001 New York, NY -

Shu called them "tin cans" equating them to the mindless animated armors that Arago had sent to fight them on countless occasions. A cursory glance confirmed that assessment, but as Ryo looked closer he realized these were different. The ones Odin sent against them had spikes and horns protruding from various parts of their Samurai armor, lending a Norse flavor to it. Then there were the weapons, the standard fare was present, katanas, kusari-gamas, and naginatas. However, some of them also carried double bladed axes, round wooden shields banded with metal, and western style short swords. Why were these soldiers armed with a strange cross of Japanese and Norse armor and weaponry?

He dropped down from the bleachers and drew his second sword. Toma took his spot on the bleachers and drew an arrow, notching it in a single fluid motion. The remainder of them formed a defensive ring around Sad, Mike, Trish and Jane. He glanced over his shoulder to check on them. They bounced awkwardly in their stances, filled with nervous energy. Their eyes flitted here and there, overwhelmed by the volume of the enemy. Ryo looked for White Blaze and catching the tiger's eye flicked his head back to the four. The tiger slipped inside the ring and circled the four teenagers, a second line of defense.

The "tin cans" quickly closed to melee distance. All worries about the teenagers fled Ryo's mind, his attention directed to the enemies before him. He and the others did their best to ensure none got inside the ring, but from the sound of White Blaze's roars and of his claws tearing through metal some did. White Blaze couldn't be everywhere inside the ring and so the teenagers had to protect themselves, though that was a rare. They had gone into this fight thinking these soldiers that Odin sent against them would be easy prey. They were wrong.

Ryo and the others were some of the most skilled combatants on the planet, the three Mashou and Kayura more so, thanks to their age. However, they each found themselves hard pressed to defeat their foes. Oh, the soldiers went down, but it took far more effort to kill each one than it had ever taken to fell one of Arago's troopers. Except for the first one they ever fought. The five of them had just barely beaten that one. Ryo needing to use his special attack. After that, none of Arago's mindless minions had ever provided much difficulty.

Odin's soldiers were different. They were intelligent, they knew how to fight. They parried, blocked and dodged attacks and took advantages of the openings they created. Ryo found himself fending off as many blows as he was throwing out. Their enemy seemed endless. White Blaze too gave out injured cries, that was exceptionally rare. Ryo spared a quick glance to check on the others after felling his most recent opponent. All of them seemed to be straining to beat these soldiers, even Kayura and the Mashou. Toma fired off shots as often as he could, but spent a good deal of time blocking attacks with his bow and felling opponents with punches and kicks.

These soldiers certainly knew tactics. They were trying to take out the one source of ranged attacks available to the Troopers. In fact, they were focusing a lot of attention on Toma. Ryo tried to go over and help but found himself engaged by another opponent. As he turned his attention away, he caught a glimpse of Kayura coming to Toma's aide. He heard more sounds of conflict from the four teenagers. He gave a quick glance in their direction as he parried another blow. The four were working together to take down whatever soldiers made it to them. Far more opponents than Ryo and the others had anticipated achieving that. The four were panting but still alive, good.

Ryo parried another blow, his attention returning to his opponent and struck out with his other blade, felling it. He then dived into the mass of soldiers, blades whirling around him. His opponents fell before his razor whirlwind, but it was a short lived assault. He was getting winded. He found himself stepping back towards the circle as he parried blows from numerous opponents, unable to attack. An arrow suddenly felled one and he lashed out, taking out a second, then a third. He had to conserve his energy. He switched to fighting defensively, the others having the same idea. They all backed up, closing the ring, parrying and blocking the incoming attacks, watching each others backs. They only attacked when a clear opportunity presented itself. This was taking far too long.

Toma was the first to make use of his special attack, his shout of "Heaven's Shockwave!" followed by an arrow streaking out. A concussive blast radiated from the arrow, knocking Odin's troops to the ground or sending them flying. All landing with enough force to take them out of the fight for good. That put a significant dent in the attacking mass. It became easier to land attacks. Then Shu let loose with his, "Iron Rock Crusher!" He swung his staff down, smashing the tip into the street. The road directly in front of him rent and shook for fifty feet, energy crackling around the shifting heaps of asphalt. Hundreds of Odin's troops found themselves crushed by flying chunks of road.

"Red Lightning Strike!" Kayura leapt into the air and threw down the spiked end of her kusari-gama. Hundreds of red lightning bolts shot up out of the ground in a twenty foot radius from the landing site. They shifted into chains and trapped a large mass of the attacking swarm. The chains tightened, constricting their victims. Soon, vapor escaped from the ensnared soldiers, and they fell to the ground lifeless. "Black Lightning Strike!" Anubis swung his nodatchi in a wide horizontal slash, bolts of black lightning flying out from the blade. The bolts jumping from one enemy to the next, each one they struck falling to the ground.

"Wave Smasher!" Shin set his feet and held his yari out in front of him. A cyclone of water shot out from the tip of his spear, catching Odin's soldiers in it's deadly vortex. Shin waved it over the attacking mass, as though putting out a fire. The swarm no longer seemed endless. "Snake Fang Strike!" Ryo wasn't sure which version of his attack Naaza used, the whip or the thrusting attack with all six of his swords, the Mashou was directly behind him. Ryo had faced both versions often enough to know that either was capable of mass carnage.

Then Rajura let loose with his, "Web of Deception!" The Mashou jumped into the air and pulled the six kamas from his back, using the handle of their holster. The kamas flew into the ground, a shimmering thread trailing each one. Thousands of those threads shot out of the ground all around the impact points, forming a spider's web. The soldiers trapped with the web turned on each other, their minds clouded by Rajura's attack. Soon they all lay lifeless, done in by their comrades. Seiji let loose with his then, "Lightning Strike!" The blonde trooper thrust his nodatchi into the air, flung it out to his side then swept it forward in a horizontal slash. A ball of blue and white lightning shot out from the blade, blasting into the mass of foes. They could do nothing but convulse as life left them in the wake of the attack.

Ryo took a deep breath, there were barely any left in comparison to the number at the start. It was his turn now. He exhaled and catapulted himself into the air, joining the handles of his swords end to end, creating a double bladed staff. He raised it above his head and as he swung it down called out, "Fury of Wildfire!" A beam of liquid fire shot out from his blades, incinerating everything in it's path. He touched down, breathing heavily, all of Odin's troops were gone. He raised his head, his brow knitting. The road in front of him should look like a meteor crashed on it. It was untouched. As were the buildings that should have been decimated by his attack.

He looked around. None of their attacks had damaged the landscape, not even Shu's. Which was the strangest thing of all, since he had seen it tear up the street. He looked to the others bewildered. Toma the only one who didn't seem completely confounded, he had a pensive look upon his face. He drew an arrow and shot it at a traffic light. Instead of piercing the object, it bounced off. Toma nodded, "Yeah, we're in a time stasis."

Everyone but Sad, Mike and Kayura shot back, "A what?!"

Toma opened his mouth, but Sad beat him to it, "A time stasis. It means the flow of time in this area has been suspended."

Ryo turned to Sad, "Huh?"

Mike answered this time, "Okay, so think of time like a river." Everyone nodded. "Now, build a dam across the river. Water stops, right?"

Seiji answered back, "Okay, so time has stopped flowing completely?"

Toma answered, picking up on Mike's explanation, "Yes and no. See, the stoppage of time in this case is a localized effect. So, get rid of the dam. Replace it with a large rock. The water flows around the rock, but doesn't move the rock. The water, or in this case time, has stopped flowing where the rock is. That's a time stasis."

A unanimous "Ooh," resounded.

Shin asked, "Okay, so what does that have to do with your arrow not doing anything to the traffic light, or our attacks not damaging the city?"

Sad and Mike shrugged.

Toma answered, "It means that we cannot make any changes to our environment. We can't damage things because they're frozen in time."

Shu spoke, "But what about my attack, it tore up the street when I used it. Now the street is fine."

It was Toma's turn to shrug. Kayura provided the answer, "It is not impossible to effect the environment in a time stasis. In order to so, you need to use magic. In this case, your attack Shu. However, once the magic has ended, the environment returns to its original state."

A soft round of applause drifted down from above their heads, "We are very impressed. You figured it all out. You should be very proud. Such concepts are quite difficult for the average mortal to comprehend so quickly. Of course, we shouldn't be surprised. You are all far from average mortals. Especially you Loki." Sad glared up at Odin, as did the rest of them. Seiji placing a hand on Sad's shoulder prevented the boy from speaking and identifying himself to Odin. Odin chuckled, "Mm, we shouldn't be surprised that our step son is so adept at hiding. Cowering has ever been his specialty. We imagine you are wondering why our soldiers gave you so much trouble, yes?"

Ryo forced out a snort, "Trouble? I think you need to get your eyes checked. They're all gone. We're still here."

Odin chuckled, "Yes, we know. We also know that you had to use your special attacks to defeat them. Such attacks should only be utilized against tough opponents, don't you agree? Of course, you were fighting the Einherji. We would have been sorely disappointed in our Valkyries if the Einherji had not forced you to use such means."

Ryo looked around and mouthed the word Einherji to the others, Toma and Sad responded, "The souls of the dead warriors chosen to fight by Odin's side during Ragnarok. Only the most worthy of warriors who die in battle are given that honor." Ryo nodded in thanks.

Odin rubbed his neck with his left hand, "But we grow tired of this. It is high time the games ended. You are not nearly strong enough to stand against us and we are not in the mood to humor your attempts at resistance." He raised his right hand in front of his face, a swirling mass of energy concentrating around it. He balled his hand into a fist and flung it out in front of himself, splaying his fingers wide at the last instant. A blinding flash of light engulfed them. Ryo felt more than saw Kayura and the Mashou and the four teenagers go flying, reduced to nothing more that colored balls of light, streaking across the sky in all directions.

Just before he felt himself and the others being pulled away, he heard Odin say, "Hmm, that is most unfortunate. We did not expect that." And then he was pulled away from Times Square. This felt different than the time that Arago had caused their armors to retreat to their resting places, at least to him. The sensation from the other Troopers felt different than that as well The sensation he got from the Mashou and the four teenagers flying off felt exactly like when the others had been flung to their resting places though.

(POV Shift)

Odin was rubbing at his throat once more, as he dropped his right hand to his side and turned away from the ledge of the roof, "Hmm, that is most unfortunate. We did not expect that."

Thor knitted his brow in consternation, "What did you not expect All Father?"

Odin looked at him absently, "We intended to kill the bearers and leave their armors behind. Sadly, they live still. They have been scattered. We also did not realize that this action would result in Heimdallr and Diana scattering along with them. A shame. Still, we found Heimdallr once, we know where to find him again."

"Then let us go retrieve him. I will be happy to bring him back to you, father."

"No son, we appreciate the sentiment, but there is a better use for Heimdallr at the moment."

Ares spoke, that nasally voice grating in Thor's ears, "A better use, All Father?"

Odin nodded absently, "Yes, bait. The five in the white armors, they were not scattered by my spell. Something else pulled them away from here. They will seek out the others. We will watch them, follow them, ambush them and subdue them when they are at their weakest, when they are separated. If they somehow manage to survive that. Well, we will watch where Heimdallr sleeps and prepare. When they come for him, we will destroy them, without fail." Odin rubbed at his neck once more, looking back over his shoulder at the spot where the thirteen had stood in defiance, "We need to know more about our enemies. Learn their weaknesses. We will choose which of you confronts them at each location. We want you to take their memories. We will provide you with the necessary means. Their memories will serve to help us break them, should you fail. Yes, that will work nicely."

Odin turned his head away from where the fools had stood. He took a few more steps, shimmered and then faded from sight. Thor looked around at the six others present, sneering at Ares. They had all best perform to the All Father's expectations. He followed after his father, shimmering and fading, returning to Asgard.

(POV Shift)

Seiji opened his eyes, raising a hand to his head and blinking at the bright light. He must have passed out. He tried to sit up, a familiar hand on his shoulder stopped him. "_Rest Seiji, you are safe here. Jessica will explain everything when you have recovered._" He leaned back onto whatever surface he was resting on. It seemed soft enough and closed his eyes as Nasté requested. Sleep took him.

(Time Skip)

He awoke a few hours later, the pain in his head gone. As he opened his eyes he noticed that the room was rather dark. He sat up, finding himself laying on a twin sized bed. He looked around the room, the shades had been pulled down and the red and blue plaid curtains drawn, light softly illuminating the curtains around the edge of the shades. The walls were painted in a light shade of yellow, a large set of antlers hung above his bed, a taxidermy of a fish hung in the middle of the wall behind him, another bed was to his right, above that was a smaller set of antlers. Toma lay on the other bed. He knew this bed room, it was Sad's. He threw back the denim comforter and swung his legs out, rising to his feet.

All he had on was a pair of boxers. He scanned the room, his clothes were on a chair in front of a dark wooden desk, Toma's atop a matching dresser. Desk and dresser against the wall opposite the heads of the beds. Seiji walked over to his clothes and pulled them on. They smelled like they had been freshly laundered and ironed. He shook his head, Nasté didn't need to do that. He looked over at Toma's, they had been cleaned and pressed as well. He slipped out of the room, careful not to wake Toma. There was a door across the narrow hall from Sad's bedroom and another to his right.

A hand reached out and grabbed his arm. He looked down to his left, Nasté was sitting in a chair just outside the door of Sad's bedroom. It looked as though the chair had been there, rather than that she had placed it there. She put a finger to her lips, and stood. To the left of the door in front of him was a stair case, to the left of that another door, left of that a cabinet with packed bookshelves above it, at the far end of the hall was yet another door. Across from the stair case there seemed to be another hallway leading deeper into the house. Seiji craned his neck slightly, on the far side of this hallway was another door.

He stepped closer to this other hallway, it abruptly ended in another doorway after the one to the right, and across from that door was a twin to the other cabinet, it's bookshelves packed as well. The door at the end of this short hallway was ajar, and Nasté wasn't holding him back from exploring here. He peaked his head through the door, it led to a bathroom. He pulled his head out and turned around. As he did, the doorway to the left of the staircase cracked open. Ryo stepped out, yawning and stretching. He caught sight of Seiji and froze, then Nasté hushed him as well. She went down the staircase. Seiji and Ryo followed after.

At the bottom of the stairs Nasté turned to the left. To the right was a wide, open, arched entry way, it led to the dinning room. Nasté continued to the left through a similar entry way, into a pink walled room. There was a fireplace in the center of the far wall, to the left of that was what looked to be a grand piano in a dark wood, to the right of the fire place tucked away in the corner a chest of drawers. In front of the fireplace a round cushioned seat with no back or arm rests. To either side of that an arm chair. An empty space before a dark wood coffee table sat in front of a pink couch across from the fire place, an end table at either end of the couch. At either end of the coffee table another arm chair. Tucked away in the far corner of the room, diagonal from the chest of drawers was a wing chair.

Jessica sat in the arm chair at the far end of the coffee table. Her eyes were closed and her hands were shaking. Tracks of smeared mascara trailed down from her eyes, she'd been crying. Ryo tensed and was kneeling at her side before Seiji even realized he had moved, taking one of her hands in his. She opened her red rimmed eyes and looked down at him, then over to Nasté and Seiji. She took a deep breath to steady herself and choked back a sob. "I am glad that the five of you are okay." Her grip tightened on Ryo's hand for a moment. " Nasté told me about what Arago did after your first fight with Shiten. It seems Odin tried to do the same, with similar results."

White Blaze padded into the room, winding his way around the people and furniture to sit on the opposite side of Jessica and plopped his head into her lap. She absently pet the tiger.

Seiji felt his brow lower, "Then why are we here and not in our armors' resting places?"

Jessica smiled pitifully, "Always so clever, Seiji. You and the others hinted at it when you snickered at the Mashou's armors in the restaurant. Do you understand?" He gave her a puzzled look, "Ah, you don't quite see the connection yet. The five of you, your armors have been reforged since their creation. They are and are not the same armors that Odin forged into the Armor of Creation. His connection with your armors is far weaker. His attack had no effect on the five of you."

Ryo asked the shared question, confusion plain in his voice, "Then why are we here and not in Times Square?"

Jessica let out a half laugh, half cry, "My grandmother was scrying the battle. As soon as Odin lashed out at the thirteen of you she realized what was happening, that the five of you would be left there. You were exhausted from your fight with the Einherji. Had you remained behind you would have been easy prey for Odin and his followers. She could not allow that to happen. She acted quickly, too quickly. She had to get you out of there as the others were being scattered, so Odin would think he had flung you away as well. She teleported you five back to her house."

Seiji stared at her in horror as he realized what she was leaving unsaid, "Jessica..."

Ryo had yet to pick up on it but there was great concern in his voice, "Then why are we at Sad's house?"

She smiled sadly down at Ryo and ran a hand along his face, "Ah, Ryo, you're not quite as clever as Seiji, but your heart, it is so radiant." Tears rolled down her face, the hand that had trailed along Ryo's face shaking violently. Her other hand clenched Ryo's hard enough to make him wince. She tried to give voice to the answer, but no sound came from her lips. Her lips wide, forming an o, quivered as she tried to force them into the necessary shape. Concern was plain as day in Ryo's blue eyes.

Seiji felt his heart rending, "Because she couldn't stand to be in that house anymore Ryo."

Ryo turned to him, "Why not?"

Seiji let out a sigh and collapsed into the chair opposite Jess. Nasté perched herself on the couch, in the seat nearest him. Her hand wrapped around his left forearm, lending him strength. Seiji raised his head and looked directly at Ryo, "Jess just told us Ryo. Her grandmother acted quickly, too quickly. For a mortal the power necessary to achieve instant teleportation is enormous. Kayura could manage instant teleportation, so could Jess. I'm sure Jessica's grandmother could as well, since she obviously knew the spell. But it would take them a substantial amount of time to gather the necessary energy to do it safely. That's why Kayura always travels through the nether realm. Summoning one of those gates requires much less energy. Then from the nether realm, she can open another gate to take her wherever she wishes in our world. Fast, safe, effective, though not quite instantaneous, travel."

Jessica nodded along with Seiji's explanation. Ryo's eyes growing wide with horror as he realized what Seiji was getting at. "You don't...you can't..."

Seiji dropped his head again, "I do, Ryo. Jessica's grandmother, she had to teleport us and do it fast. She didn't have enough time to safely gather the necessary energy and she couldn't use a gate, not for this. She did what Kaos did when he created that bridge to the nether realm for us. She fueled the spell with her life."

Jessica broke into full sobs, her upper body collapsing into her lap and onto White Blaze's head. The tiger rubbed his head against her. The knuckles of her hand holding Ryo's turned white. Ryo looked back to her and rose partially, sitting lightly on the arm of her chair. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. Her hands clutched at his back as she sobbed against him. White Blaze kept his head in her lap and rubbed his head against her stomach.

Seiji lifted his head and flopped his torso against the back of his chair, his head landing along the top. He stared up at the ceiling, blinking back tears. Nasté's grip on his arm grew tighter, she turned away, burying her face in her other hand as her elbow rested on her knee. Seiji reached over with his right hand and gave the hand on his forearm a reassuring squeeze.

This war had claimed its first victim, how many more were to come? Someone cleared their voice in the entry way of the room. Seiji rolled his head to the side, Toma, Shu and Shin were standing there. When had they arrived? How much had they heard? From the vacant look in each of their eyes, they had heard enough. Three teenaged boys stood behind them, Sad and Mike's friends. Seiji closed his eyes for a moment, seeking his inner calm. When he opened them he was in control of his emotions once more. He stood and faced the others, holding Nasté's hand, lending her his strength now. "Well, we all know the drill. We look at the poem, figure out the places it's talking about. Then we go there, fight the foes that followed us there and wake up our friends. Any questions?"

The six figures shook their heads. Ryo spoke out, resuming his command, "Then let's get started." His voice rang with the cold sound of steel. "We start with the Mashou."

Seiji and the others nodded. Jess was still clutching Ryo's hand, pressing her face against it, her body heaving with silent sobs. One of Sad's friends spoke up, "Why aren't you going after Sad. He's Loki, isn't he? Isn't he way more important?"

Ryo stared at the boy, a cold, undirected rage storming in his blue eyes, "Two reasons, and I know they're going to sound cold. When we were awakened after Arago scattered us, we had to be awoken in the order we were listed in the poem. The stanza about the Mashou comes before the stanza about your friends. When dealing with things of a mystical nature, you have to play by the rules. From what we know the rule is you follow the order in the poem. The far more important reason is the Mashou are better fighters. They'll be more of an asset to us than your friends. That makes them a higher priority. Maybe if the stanza with your friends came first we'd go after them first. Though even if that were the case, I'd likely still want to go after the Mashou first. I'm sorry, but that's the truth."

The three boys said, in unison, "Oh." They promptly shut their mouths.

Ryo spoke again, "Does anyone know where the copy of the poem Jessica had is?"

Jessica lifted her head to try and answer but found herself unable to. Nasté also was at a loss for words. The tallest of the three teenagers, easily over six feet, spoke up, "I do. I heard Jessica mention it to Nasté." He was Sad's friend, Seiji thought his name was Oliver.

Seiji broke in, sparing Ryo the trouble of having to remember the boy's name, he knew Ryo was horrible with names, "Would you mind getting it for us, Oliver?"

"No problem." The boy turned and disappeared, returning with the scroll Jessica had shown them before. Oliver started to hand it to Seiji. Toma intercepted it, Seiji nodded gratefully to him. He would have had to ask someone else to take it anyway.

"Shin, Shu, would you guys mind clearing off the coffee table?" The two snapped awake at Toma's request and hurried over to the coffee table, as did the three boys. All of them gathered up the contents of the table, a few coffee table books, a silver dish, a wooden box with a glass top, a needlepoint unicorn under the glass. The items were carefully set aside. Toma set the scroll down on the table and unfurled it. He cleared his throat and began to read, translating it into English out of courtesy to all in the room,

"Torch of Spirit, sought through five,  
Drinking strength from immortal fire,  
The darkest prison sheds the light,  
Churning beneath a swirl of salt,  
Burning within a throne of rock,  
Floating amongst the eyes of ages,  
Unmoored in the stream of the sky.

Sands of Time, sought through four,  
Standing guard over the sacred blooms,  
Eternal snow cloaked in the longest night,  
Meditating amid mirage and haze,  
Rotting away with trees unaged,  
Sunken beneath a sea of green.

Essence of Being, sought through six,  
Hiding in the House of the Dragon,  
Bathing in scarlet with the Countess,  
The Stone Rejected grants absolution,  
Resting beneath the Place of the Skull,  
Chasing after the lily stag,  
Watching o'er the sacred bridge,  
Fixed in place with horn in hand.

The gods gave their powers,  
Upon these few all hope rests."

Seiji scratched at his forehead, "Alright, so we know the first stanza applies to us five. Since that was the stanza that we used when Arago scattered us. All of the stanzas follow a similar pattern in the first line, establishing how many armors they're talking about. The second stanza mentions four, so that's the Mashou, the third mentions six, so that's the Armors of Humanity." They had been over this already, he was just establishing it for the three newcomers.

Toma nodded, "Yeah, exactly. Then the second line of the second stanza deals with one of the Mashou. It mentions sacred blooms. Well, flowers are most associated with Spring. That would be Kayura then, her armor, the Armor of the Oni is the armor for Spring. And this poem was penned by someone who was Japanese..."

Ryo spoke up, "So, the sacred bloom would likely be the cherry blossom. The only place I know of where anyone would stand guard over cherry blossoms is the Imperial Palace in Tokyo."

The four of them nodded, Toma voiced his agreement, "Yeah, that makes sense. Alright, I'll go after Kayura." The rest of them smirked, of course Toma would choose to go after her.

Seiji tackled the next line himself, "'Eternal snow cloaked in the longest night,' definitely the armor for winter, which is Anubis's Armor of the Black Jackal. I'd say it'd be the north pole. Permafrost being the 'eternal snow'. As for the 'longest night' if I remember correctly at a certain time of year night lasts for a quite a while up there. Something like 40 days?"

Mike's friend, Jake, broke in, "Yeah, that's right. Um, sorry, it's just there was a really good comic book series called _40 Days of Night_. It took place in a town really far north during the time when night lasted for forty days. Premise being that vampires heard about this and decided to make the town their hunting ground during that."

Shin responded less than enthusiastically, "How delightful."

Seiji nodded absently, staring down at the poem, "I'll go after Anubis. Since he and I have such lovely history together." The other Troopers chuckled.

Toma took over again, "'Meditating amid mirage and haze' well the Mashou most likely to be meditating would be Rajura, plus mirages and haze fit in perfectly with his illusions. And they're associated with deserts, and that's pretty much like eternal summer, and that would be the Armor of the Phantom. I'm guessing the Sahara, it's the biggest desert I know of."

Sad's friend Luke broke in, "I imagine you'd want to go to Mt. Kilimanjaro. It's the largest landmark around there, literally." The others turned their heads to look at him. He took a gulp of air, "Sorry, it's just geography is sort of my thing."

Oliver backed him up, "Yeah, Sad's always talking about how Luke's knowledge of geography blows his mind. He says that Luke can give you the entire history of any country on the planet."

A slight flush came to Luke's face, "Well, yeah, I guess I can sort of do that. So, um, yeah, if you're going to the Sahara, I'd start at Mt. Kilimanjaro. It's the best landmark there." Seiji and the other troopers gave Luke an appraising glance.

Toma turned to Shu, "Alright, I guess you should start at Mt. Kilimanjaro, then." Shu looked at Toma in shock, pointing at himself. He stopped, considering then nodded in assent. "Good." Toma looked back to the scroll, "Um, alright, so that leaves Naaza, obviously. The Armor of the Spitting Cobra."

Shin spoke, "Well, I'll go after him, since everyone else is taking the one whose company they most enjoy. Well, at least Toma is." They all chuckled.

Toma rolled his eyes, "Alright, so 'Rotting away with trees unaged,/Sunken beneath a sea of green.' Well, I'm guessing that means a swamp of some kind. But I'll be damned if I know which swamp it means." The five troopers looked at each other at a loss.

Once more Luke cleared his throat, "Um, well, it says, 'sunken beneath a sea of green.' My guess is that means a peat bog."

Toma nodded, "Yeah, that would make sense..."

Luke continued, "The largest and most famous peat bog in the world is Vasyugan Swamp in Siberia."

All five of them looked at Luke just a little impressed. Toma spoke up, "Alright Shin, I guess you're going to Siberia then."

Shu broke in, "Don't forget some vodka." They all laughed, Jessica even managing a grin at that. She had stopped crying for now. She was resting her head against Ryo's hip, her arms around his waist. Ryo had an arm draped protectively over her shoulders.

Ryo spoke up, "I guess that means I should tackle the first of the Armors of Humanity. Who's that and where am I going?"

Toma looked down at the scroll, "'Hiding in the House of the Dragon.' Um, well, we know next to nothing about those armors, actually. Which means I have no idea who you're going after Ryo. As for the 'House of the Dragon,' I'm not really sure. I feel like I should know it, but I just can't recall."

Jake, Oliver and Luke all let out a disappointed sigh, "Ugh, Castle Dracula, duh."

Everyone looked over to them, "Huh?"

Oliver took over the explanation, "Dracula, the name means Son of the Dragon. He's probably the most famous actual dragon in the world. Thus the most famous House of the Dragon in the world would be Castle Dracula."

"Oh," in unison from all but the three boys.

Luke spoke, "I'd go to Poenari Castle in Romania, not Bran Castle. Vlad the Impaler actually lived in Poenari Castle. Bran's a tourist trap. It has almost no real connections to Vlad the Impaler."

Jake took over next, "And 'Bathing in scarlet with the Countess' that's referring to Countess Elizabeth Báthory." The five of them gave him blank stares. "The one that killed all those girls and supposedly bathed in their blood to stay young. Tons of vampire stories surrounding her. She's the only person they could mean by a Countess bathing in scarlet. So, you're looking for her castle. I just can't remember what it's called for the life of me."

Luke once again provided the answer, "Oh, that'd be Csejte Castle in Slovakia."

Seiji gave each of the boys an appraising look, they were proving quite useful. Sad seemed to have a way of attracting those he'd need to himself, either directly or through his friends.

Oliver took the next two lines, "'The Stone Rejected grants absolution.' Well, St. Peter is often referred to as the stone rejected upon which Christ built his church. He's buried in the catacombs under Vatican City. That's probably where that armor is. And then 'Resting beneath the Place of the Skull.' Well the Place of the Skull, that's the translated name for Golgotha outside of Jerusalem."

Luke tackled the next line, "'Chasing after the lily stag.' Well, we saw the fight thanks to, um, never mind. Odin referred to the two he had taken as Heimdallr and Diana. Diana is a Greek goddess, the goddess of the hunt. She's known for hunting a lily stag in her forest. The most famous forest in Greece is Dadia Forest. That's where I'd look."

Jake tackled the last two lines, "'Watching o'er the sacred bridge,/Fixed in place with horn in hand.' Well, Odin called one of the two he pointed out to you guys Heimdallr He's a Norse god, stands watch over Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge." The Troopers gave him blank stares, he elaborated, "The passage between Midgard or Earth and Asgard. Heimdallr watches for the coming of Ragnarok, and when he sees it approach he will sound the alarm with his horn, Gjallhorn. That's who these lines are referring to, and they're telling you that he's at one end of Bifrost. But I'll be damned if I know where that is."

Everyone in the room let out a defeated sigh. They knew where to find all but one of the sleeping armors. Oliver's eyes lit up and he turned to Luke. "Luke, the Vikings all lived pretty far north right?"

Luke looked a little taken aback, "Well, yeah."

"Far enough north to see the Northern Lights?"

Luke's eyes widened with comprehension, "Definitely, yeah."

Shu looked puzzled, "So?"

Luke, Olive, Jake and Toma all turned towards him, "Rainbow Bridge, Northern Lights. The Northern Lights are like a constant rainbow in the sky. The cultures that believed in the Norse Gods, they would have seen the Northern Lights every night. Since they look like a rainbow across the sky, they could have easily thought they were seeing Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge."

"Oh."

Toma got excited now, "That means the last armor is somewhere up towards the North Pole. Not sure exactly where though. But Seiji, once you get Anubis, maybe you two can try and figure that out?"

Seiji nodded, "Yeah, we could do that."

Ryo clapped his hands, "Alright, great, we all know where we're going. Seiji even knows where he's going after he gets Anubis. The rest of us, once we finish, we come back here. The first ones back go to Slovakia. The next go to Vatican City, after that Jerusalem, and then Greece. Okay?"

Everyone nodded.

Jake asked the most important question of the day, "Um, how are you guys going to get to all these places?"

He was answered with silence.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

Hmm, this next story arc seems familiar doesn't it? Well, I hope to have a few surprises in store for you guys. We'll have to see if I can manage that. Chapter 12 is called Sakura.

Thanks for reading.

- Corlock Striker


	12. Chapter 12: Steward

Alright, by this point I think you all know the drill with the disclaimer that's been at the beginning of the first ten chapters. So we'll skip that bit. We'll also skip the bit about why I'm not using standard Publishing Industry formatting. Okay, so I know I told you all that this chapter was going to be called Sakura, bit of a change in plans. The story kind of took me in a different direction and I found that something other than what I expected became the focus of the chapter. Sorry, this one is called Stewardship now. With that said, all that's left for me to say is, enjoy.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Twelve: Steward  
By Corlock Striker

May 19, 2001 Larchmont, NY -

Jake's question was innocent enough, "Um, how are you guys going to get to all these places?" The question hung in the air, an accusation of failure. Ryo dropped his head, and sank back onto the arm of the chair Jess was sitting in. White Blaze placed a paw in his lap. Ryo had no idea how they were going to get to these locations all over the world.

At least the gears seemed to be spinning in Toma's head, "Nasté, Jessica, do either of you know if we're still within the bounds of Odin's time stasis?"

Jessica answered, in enough control of herself to speak, "We are. The stasis engulfs the entirety of the tri-state area. Better yet, we're the only living souls within the stasis."

Toma let out a defeated sigh.

Seiji gave him a puzzled look, "Why would that matter?"

"If we're inside the time stasis then we're stuck here. It's impossible to just walk out of one. Only way to bring it down is for Odin to dispel it, or for us to beat him. If Kayura were here, then maybe we'd have a shot, but without her. Well, we're up a creek without a paddle."

"Oh," Seiji's simple response.

Jess untangled herself from him, though she allowed his arm to remain around her shoulders. "We don't need Kayura. I can open the gates we'll need."

Toma's eyes darted over to her, "You're sure about this Jessica? Summoning the gates is no easy task."

The young woman nodded, iron in her voice, "Kayura taught me how. In case we needed another person capable of it. Plus she left the Staff of the Ancients with me. She said it would of more use to me than to her. I can do it."

Toma nodded, "Alright, I'd say we're in business then. How many times in a row can you open them?"

Jessica frowned, "I think I can do six. It'll be at my upper limits, but I should be able to. I'll let Ryo know if I'm feeling up to it after five."

Toma nodded, "Where should we go to open the first one?"

Jessica looked over her shoulder, through the double doors at the end of living room, "Sad's backyard should suffice. It's small, but I think it's large enough."

Ryo nodded, "Alright, let's get going." He directed his gaze to the three boys, "You're going to have to come with us to the nether realm. I want you to stay near Jess, you'll be safer that way. Same goes for you, Nasté." He scratched at his chin, "You three might want to see if you can scrounge up any sort of weapons. Just in case."

Oliver and Luke laughed, "Weapons? At Sad's house? No problem." The others looked at them askance, including Jake. The two pulled Jake along with them and disappeared. Ryo heard them go down a flight of stairs. Sad's house must have a basement, then he heard another door open. A few seconds later it opened again. He heard them rummaging around. Not five minutes after they had left the three returned.

Oliver had a small sledge hammer. The wooden handle was rather short, maybe twenty three centimeters, and the head probably didn't weigh more than two and half kilograms, judging by its size. Still, even that would do a fair amount of damage. Jake had a small hatchet, the handle about twice as long as the hammer's, the head maybe thirteen centimeters long, with maybe an eight centimeter blade. Not exactly a war axe, but at least it looked sharp and well maintained. Luke carried the strangest implement, it was all metal with a molded rubber grip. The shaft was about one and half times as long as the hatchet's, and it ended in a steel cylinder maybe five to eight centimeters long with a two to three centimeter diameter, the cylinder capped with maybe a centimeter or two of rubber.

Ryo stood and walked over to Luke, taking the thing from him. The thing had a decent weight to it, maybe one and a half to two and a half kilograms. The longer shaft would give it a bit more punch than the hammer, even if it was lighter. The way the molded rubber directed your grip, it was meant to be held like a golf club. It wasn't unmanageable nor uncomfortable to hold it upright like a mace. Plus, it seemed sturdy enough. He gave the thing an appraising look then handed it back to Luke, "What the hell is that?"

Luke and Oliver grinned, Luke answerd, "Sad's parents are pretty avid golfers. It's meant to help train your swing. You're supposed to bring it back with your normal back swing, and then let it fall and guide you naturally through a proper swing. The heavy weight is meant to assist with that. But I'd say it could do a fair amount of damage if swung at someone."

Ryo nodded, "I'd have to agree. There anything else in this house that Nasté could use?"

Oliver and Luke looked at each other and frowned. Oliver answered, "No, not really. Sad has a sword that he bought in Italy, but it's not sharp and definitely meant to be decorative, not functional. The blade is all wobbly in the hilt." He scratched his head, squinting, "I mean, I guess there's that metal pole. It's probably about the proper length for a staff. It's like an eighth of an inch in diameter though, and not very heavy. Eh, there are maybe some broom sticks in the garage. Oh, there's also the pick axe. The haft alone is heavy."

Luke's eyes lit up, "Oh, there's also that cleaver hanging up in the kitchen!"

Oliver snapped his fingers, "Yeah, and there are shotguns and rifles in the house somewhere!" His shoulders drooped, "But Sad says there's no ammunition in the house. Well, none for the guns they have anyway."

Ryo looked at the two arching an eyebrow, considering, "About how big is an eighth of an inch?"

Toma answered, "Almost exactly three millimeters."

Ryo waved his head back and forth, debating in silence, "It's not much, but it's better than nothing. Get a broom stick if you can find one. Otherwise, get the pole. A broom stick would be preferred." Oliver rushed off.

Nasté spoke up, "Ryo, I don't even know how to use a staff!"

Ryo and the other Troopers smirked. Shu answered, "Nasté, the staff is quite possibly the easiest weapon to learn. You don't need much training to use it competently." Oliver returned as Shu finished, with a wooden broom stick, one end scored like a screw. Shu said to the boy, "Toss that over, would you?" Oliver tossed it, the shaft vertical in the air. Shu snatched it and refrained from giving it a flourish. Instead he held it with two hands, his hands about shoulder width apart. "You hold it like this. Then you use the middle and ends to block, the middle is best. You can use both your arms to absorb the impact of the blow in the middle." He raised the staff above his head, holding it horizontally, "Over head block." He dropped it down in front of him, then turned it vertical, his left hand over his right, pushing it out past his right side, "Right side block." Then he reversed the action, "Left side block."

He held it horizontally in front of him again and dropped it below his waist, "Low line block." Sliding his right hand up towards his left, he held the staff at a slight angle, the upper end coming toward his left shoulder, "Left side low line block. This uses the low end of the staff, not it's strongest point, but still effective." He mirrored that action, "Right side low line block. Same thing." He held it horizontally in front of himself just below his shoulders, elbows at his sides. He thrust outward with his right hand, "Right attack."

He brought his right arm back, and thrust out with his left arm, "Left attack. You can vary the line of attack by holding the staff at various angles. You can also block diagonal slashes in the same manner. Hold it at an angle and thrust the staff out past your body, though the side blocks I showed you before will also work, but they'll make use of the ends of the staff. As I said before, they aren't as good for blocking as the middle of the staff." He held the pole in one hand, leaning on it, "That's all you need to know to use a staff effectively. All the twirling, that's mostly for show. Some of it's good for feinting. You don't need that to protect yourself, though. You got it?"

Nasté nodded. Shu handed her the broom stick.

Oliver smacked his forehead, "I forgot about the hunting knives!"

Ryo's head snapped over, "How many?"

Oliver scratched his chin, "Four or five, I think."

"Grab all of them."

Oliver ran upstairs and returned with four sheathed knives. Ryo took them from him, he set them down on a table next to the couch. One of the knives had a horn handle with the initials SSS carved into it. Definitely an expensive knife, likely with a high quality blade. He picked it up, the sheath held a sharpening stone in a pocket. Ryo unfastened the leather strap holding the knife in place. He drew it, the blade was about 13 cm long and about two centimeters wide at it's thickest point, curving to a point, the back of the blade straight. He tested the edge by running the pad of his thumb across it. The edge was exceptionally sharp. He looked more carefully at the blade, not a speck of rust. He sheathed it and set it down, separate from the other three.

"That one belonged to Sad's grandfather, if I remember right." Oliver.

Ryo nodded engrossed in his inspection. He picked up a second knife. This one had banded leather wrapped around the handle. Not as extravagant as the horn handle, just functional. This sheath had a sharpening stone in a pocket as well. He unfastened the catch and drew it. The blade was a twin to the first. He tested the edge, just as sharp, no rust. Whoever was caring for these knives knew what they were doing. He sheathed it, fastened the clasp, and set it down with the horn handled one.

"That one was Sad's dad's, I think." Oliver again.

Another polite nod, Ryo barely registering what the boy said. He picked up the third knife, the handle similar to the second one, though a different shade of brown. The sheath had the initials RSS on it in gold. A sharpening stone mounted on the sheath again. He unfastened the catch and drew the knife. The blade had the same dimensions as the others. He tested the edge, not even close to dull and free of rust as well. He had to meet whoever was caring for these knives. Even the leather sheaths showed little sign of wear. The caregiver had to be oiling them regularly. He sheathed this knife and set it down with the other two.

"RSS, that'd be Sad's Uncle Bob. His father's brother." Oliver once more.

Ryo gave the same nod. He picked up the forth knife. This sheath was different, no pocket for a sharpening stone, the leather was thinner than that of the other sheathes and covered the blade and all but about maybe one and a half centimeters of the handle. There was a design carved into the sheath that made him think of Eskimos. He drew the knife. This blade was about seven and a half centimeters, maybe a little longer, and maybe a little more than a centimeter wide at it's thickest, curving to a point, the back of the blade straight. Again the edge was remarkably sharp and free of rust. He sheathed the knife, setting it down with the rest.

"Sad isn't sure who's knife that was. His dad didn't give him a clear answer, or something. He thinks it was his grandfather's, maybe. A souvenir, or something." Oliver, yet again.

Ryo nodded and picked up the smaller knife, the one with the carved leather sheath. He handed it to Nasté. "That one's for you, as a last resort. Stick with the staff as much as possible." He looked at the three boys. He handed the knife with the initials RSS to Jake, he was Mike's friend, so it seemed fitting to give him Sad's uncle's knife. He looked at Luke and Oliver, then back at the knives. The one with the horn handle was the crown jewel of the collection, that should go to Sad's closest friend he supposed, at least of the ones here. He picked it up and handed it to Oliver. He gave the last knife, Sad's father's, to Luke.

He looked at the three boys, "Again, these are meant as a last resort. A back up in case you can't use the other weapons you found. You need to get in fairly close to use any of your weapons, but you need to get closer with the knives and they won't do as much damage. Remember that, it'll keep you alive if you need to use any of the weapons. I sincerely hope you don't." He included Nasté in that statement, glancing at her.

He turned to Jess, he hoped she was up for this, not just saying so. "Jess, you certainly picked a good house to bring us to. Sad's got quite the arsenal." The other Troopers let out a short chuckle. "Alright, let's get down to business. We need to find our friends."

Oliver spoke, "I'll go unlock the back door." He hurried off disappearing through a much smaller arched entry way off the front hall, to the right of the living room, and turned to his left, ducking around a corner. The others followed. The smaller entry way led into a very small hall, a door on the right hand wall. The hall forced them to turn left, just after the entry way, directly under the stairs to the second floor was another door, directly across the hall from that was an open door. Ryo glanced inside as he passed, it looked like a home office. Built in computer desks ran along both of the longer walls with a great deal of bookshelves, all packed with books, above the desk on the right. Directly in front of him was another opened door, he stepped through it into the kitchen.

There was a double door cabinet on his left and a counter to his right, a sink a meter away in the counter. After the sink the counter resumed until it stopped at a wall. After the cabinet on his left was a swinging door, standing open. It lead to the dinning room. On the other side of the door was the fridge, an ancient sub-zero. Past the fridge a counter top ran along the wall, with cabinets above it all the way to the far wall, only about two or three meters beyond the fridge. The counter and cabinets then ran along the far wall for maybe four meters, the upper cabinets stopping for a window, the counter interrupted by a double basin sink. Across from the fridge was an island, a four burner range with a griddle in the middle of the burners with a vent above it in the middle of the island, across from the sink and flush against that edge of the island. The counter continued to the right of the sink, as did the upper cabinets on the other side of the window. Cabinets and counter continued on for another four meters or so before they ended. He walked down the aisle on the side of the kitchen farthest from the double basin sink.

The island ended when both counters ended. An oven was built into the wall on his right with a microwave above it, both looked about as old as the fridge. Then cabinets continued on on the other side of the oven, no counter any more. Just past the end of the island leaving an aisle to walk through was a dark wood kitchen table, the surface planed by hand. The cabinets came to an end and the kitchen opened up into a slightly wider space. It almost seemed like a new room, though it lacked a wall separating it from the kitchen. A pocket door to his right leading back into the home office. On the other side of the kitchen table, allowing enough space for people to sit on that side of the table was a blue fabric covered couch.

In front of the couch sat a dark wooden coffee table, at either end of the coffee table were arm chairs. In the far corner of this new room was a built in wall unit with a CRT type television. It didn't look too old, probably one of the last of that type built before the advent of plasma TVs. In the middle of the far wall was a tiny windowed alcove, a wooden card table nestled against the deepest wall of it. A little past the pocket door on his right was a set of double doors that opened onto a stone patio and the back yard. One of the doors open, Oliver stood on the patio shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Ryo stepped onto the patio and looked around. Directly in front of him, slightly to the left was a large oval table, to his right a Weber grill. In the far right corner of the cozy yard was a rock garden, rocks bordering on small boulders marking the perimeter and raising the level of the garden. A dogwood tree was planted in the rock garden, in the actual corner of the property, within a second ring of the large rocks on the second level. Another of the large rocks behind the tree against the fence marking the right side bounds of house's lot. He turned to his left, facing the back street, a privacy hedge rang along that edge of the property, a wrought iron fence behind it. A wrought iron gate stood between the end of the hedge and the outer perimeter of the rock garden. The gate opened onto a set of stairs which must lead to the back street. Between the hedge and the patio was a narrow expanse of grass.

A chain link fence rang along the left bound of the property, a thick layer of ivy growing up the far side. Small bushes lining Sad's side, a slightly larger bush in the left corner of the property. There might be a path down the left side of the house, but Ryo couldn't tell for sure. A rather thick bush grew up against the house to the left of the patio, trimmed to stay below the level of the windows of the alcove that jutted out from the house. The patio rimmed with a slate topped bench, broken occasionally to allow access to the yard.

To his right was a set of wicker patio furniture just outside the door that led into the living room, a couch, an armchair, a rocking chair and a narrow coffee table. There was a side yard running along that side of the house it connected with the front yard. Bushes lining a stone wall along the property line which gave way to small evergreen trees. Bushes also ran along the right side of the house. He couldn't make out what was beyond the evergreens.

Jess stepped onto the patio, the Staff of the Ancients jingling in her grip. She looked around and frowned at the narrow band of grass. She composed herself, knuckles whitening around the staff. She stepped to the edge of the patio past the oval table. She stood in the center of a wide opening in the perimeter bench. She held the staff in front of her in two hands and banged the end against the grass, setting the rings to jingling. They rang out for far longer than they should have. Jess closed her eyes, banged the staff against the ground once more, the rings jingling again for far too long.

Her eyes snapped open and she flung her arms out to her sides, the staff in her right hand. The ground rumbled. A red torii gate rose from the ground, against the privacy hedge. Jess lowered her arms, the staff's rings jingling slightly as the end hit the ground, this time for a normal interval. She sighed, looking over her shoulder, her black eyes catching his. She smiled in triumph. She looked to the others and nodded, "Well, then, shall we continue?" Without waiting for an answer she turned to the gate and nodded. The double doors swung outwards, unable to open fully, the gap was still wide enough for five people to pass through abreast. Jessica stepped onto the grass and through the gate. Ryo hurried after her. He heard five others follow. A brief pause before three more sets of footsteps hurried through the gate.

Once the three teenagers stepped through and into the netherworld the gate swung shut. They were in the courtyard of Arago's former castle. Jessica gave him a shy smile, "I thought this would be a safe place for us to wait for you to return." Ryo nodded. Jessica produced five slips of paper with a series of kanji on them. The kanji obviously drawn with a brush. Ryo took the offered slip of paper and arched an eyebrow. She handed a slip to the other four Troopers as well. "When you have found the one you are seeking, return to the place where the gate left you. Rip the paper. I will know to open a gate for you again." The five of them nodded. Jessica walked passed him, holding his gaze before a flush came to her face and she looked away. She stood in front of the torii gate they just came through. "Toma?"

The archer stepped forward.

Jessica nodded to him, "It'd probably be a good idea to put on your armor now."

Toma smirked, "Yes, mom." Pulling out his orb, he bounced it on his palm once before grasping it in his right hand. He spread his legs a little bit wider than his shoulders, threw his right arm out in front and grasped his right wrist. He called out, "_Armament: Heavens!_" He was engulfed in a flash of light, an instant later he was in a relaxed stance next to Jess clad in his armor. His bow, a little taller than he was clasped loosely in his right hand, one end resting on the ground. In the Japanese manner the grip of the bow was offset from the center. He nodded to Jessica.

She turned to face the gate, banging the staff once, the ringing hung in the air. Closing her eyes she repeated the gesture, the new ring mingling with the lingering sounds of the first, which should have ended. Her eyes flew open and she flung her arms out to the side, then she let them drop and motioned with her left hand for Toma to proceed. He stepped towards the gate. It swung outwards of its own accord, revealing a busy Tokyo street. The occupants of the street frozen in shock as they stared at the gate in front of them. Toma waved to his friends over his shoulder and stepped through. Ryo noticed the clouds in the sky beginning to grow dark as the doors swung shut. No surprise there. Toma knew to expect company.

Jessica leaned lightly against the staff. Ryo cast a worried glance at her back. As he did, she looked over her shoulder, giving him a small smile. Had she felt his gaze? She raised her left hand, signaling she was fine. "Give me a minute or two please Seiji. Then I will send you on your way as well."

"Of course, take your time." Nasté moved to Seiji's side, giving him a hug. He wrapped his arms around her, planting a kiss on her forehead. He leaned down and whispered into her ear. She nodded and smiled, then let go of him. Both their hands trailing along each others arm as she stepped away. A final squeeze of their fingers before she was beyond his reach. Seiji pulled the orb from his pocket, giving it a mournful stare. He took the same stance as Toma and called out, "_Armament: Nimbus!_" He too was engulfed in a flash of light and when it faded he was in his armor. He leaned lightly against his nodatchi, the sword only slightly shorter than him. The pommel, blade and scabbard of his new sword far more traditional than that of his first.

Jessica put her weight firmly upon her two feet and repeated the procedure she had gone through twice already. When she finished, Seiji stepped toward the gate and the doors swung outward onto a white landscape, snow swirling in the air. All save Seiji found themselves shivering from the winds that blew through the gate. It was night wherever Seiji was going. Though there were clouds in the sky they seemed to grow thicker as Seiji stepped through the gate. The doors swung shut behind him.

Jessica leaned more heavily upon the staff after the doors shut. Her left hand shot up stopping him before he even took a step. She turned to Shu, "Ready yourself Shu. I will send you on your way in just a minute."

Shu gave her a worried glance as she turned her face back towards the gate. After only a seconds pause he took out his armor orb and assumed that familiar stance. He called out, "_Armament: Stone!_" A flash of light and he too stood in his armor, leaning easily against his staff. His new one hand no blades or spikes and was not segmented. It was a simple staff, capped in metal spheres. He stood silently as Jessica recovered, not giving the slightest sign of impatience.

A minute later Jessica stood without the staff and once more went through the ritual. Shu stepped towards the gate, turning to give them all his large grin and a thumbs up. A blast of dry, scorching, sand filled wind greeted them as the gate opened on the Sahara, Shu put his left forearm across his face to shield his eyes. Leaning into the wind, he stepped through the gate. A large snow capped mountain visible not too far away. As the gate swung shut, Ryo once more noticed dark clouds gathering in the sky.

When the doors clanged shut, Jessica let out a heavy sigh and leaned upon the staff once more, this time her shoulders slumping. Ryo managed to take a single step before she raised her left hand to stop him. She turned to Shin, "Ready yourself, Shin. I need only a minute."

Shin nodded, casting a glance containing far more worry than Shu's her way. He looked over his shoulder to Ryo, asking if he should stop her.

Jessica seemed to know his thoughts, "Shin, I said I will be fine. I would know better than Ryo, don't you think? Now ready yourself." Her voice was iron, she would allow no argument.

Shin gave him a guilty look and produced his orb. Reluctantly he assumed that all too familiar stance. He called out, driving away his hesitation, "_Armament: Torrent!_" Another flash of light and he was in his armor. He stood uneasily, the butt of his yari planted on the ground. The three blades of his new yari curved in the stereotypical Japanese manner. Like his old one, hinges allowed the outer blades allowed to swing in towards the center blade, creating a deadly claw.

Perhaps two minutes later, Jessica pushed against the staff to get back on her feet. She repeated the ritual and motioned for Shin to proceed, already she was using the staff for support. Shin cast a worried glance her way and hesitated. Jessica snapped at him, "I said GO!" Shin gave her a wide eyed stare and hurried towards the gate. The doors swung outward. They were greeted to a wide expanse of green. It looked like a field of grass, though there were no blades waving in the wind. Instead it gave the appearance of grass flowing like waves. As Shin stepped through the gate dark clouds gathered in the sky.

The gate swung closed with a resounding crash and Jess's knees gave out. She caught herself upon the staff before hitting the ground. She hung suspended by her grip on the staff halfway to the ground. This time Ryo strode over to her. She wouldn't have been able to stop his advance had she tried. She didn't. Stopping next to her he grabbed her left arm and ducked under it, laying it across his shoulders. His left hand grasping hers, he held her arm in place. Stretching his right arm across her back, he tucked his hand under her arm, supporting her. He rose, bringing Jessica to a standing position. He was supporting almost all of her weight, the staff only keeping her from pulling him too far to the right. He glared at her, "That's it. You can't do that again. You're taking a rest."

She gave him an indignant look, "Of course I..."

He cut her off, as he turned them towards the castle, anger plain in his voice, "No, you can't! That's final. You can barely stand. You'll need more than a few minutes rest before you can even try to lift the staff, let alone open a gate. I can wait to go fetch whoever I'm going for. The others will need you well rested if there's to be any chance of you bringing them back."

Jessica smiled, "Alright, Ryo, you win. I'll rest." She was only just managing to place one foot in front of the other as Ryo stormed towards the castle. Her right arm hung limp at her side, the staff trailing along, threatening to trip them both.

He snorted, "It's a miracle! She listened to reason!" Seeing the danger the staff was presenting, Ryo took it from her, holding it in his right hand, ensuring it didn't kill them. That would have been a laugh, a Samurai Trooper done in by the Staff of the Ancients.

Nasté and the three boys stared after the two of them trying not to laugh.

Jessica chuckled raising her right hand weakly to pat his left cheek a few times, "Ah, Ryo, I do love that you wear your heart on your sleeve. But you need to learn to master your emotions, or they will master you." Keeping her hand on his cheek, she pulled her head up to his face. She planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Don't think that's going to help your cause, Jessica. You are still resting for a few hours, at least. And that's only if one of the others calls for you. Otherwise, it'll be six to eight."

She smiled and laughed, "I had no such illusions, Ryo. You take far too good care of me."

His gaze softened, as did his tone, "Well, someone has to. You don't do a very good job of it."

She smiled, "I know. Thank you."

He carried her into the castle and found a room for her to rest, then they waited.

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

Okay, so Chapter 13 is definitely called Sakura, I promise.

Thanks for reading.

- Corlock Striker


	13. Chapter 13: Sakura

Alright, by this point I think you all know the drill with the disclaimer that's been at the beginning of the first ten chapters. So we'll skip that bit. We'll also skip the bit about why I'm not using standard Publishing Industry formatting. Okay, so I realized that I forgot to mention a minor change I made to things that you would have noticed last chapter. You're all probably saying, "Why the hell are they calling out for their armors with 'Armament: _!'" It's a fair question. The answer is that the Japanese summoning phrase is "Buso _!" You run that through Google translate, and it turns out Buso means armament or arms. So, it's a little bit more of a literal translation.

Now, there's another reason I decided to go this route. As I'm sure all of you are aware there's no real consensus on the names of the warlord armors. Personally, I like the names, Oni, Black Jackal, Spitting Cobra and Phantom. I had these written down in one section of the notebook I have to keep things about my fic straight. Sadly, it's not consistent throughout. Ironic, yes? One part had those names listed, another didn't, so I initially used the names for the warlord armors Ogre, Jackal, Cobra and Tarantula. I've since gone back and revised that to the names I like better.

Now, what does this have to do with the whole armament thing you're asking. Well, "Armament: Oni!" "Armament: Black Jackal!" "Armament: Spitting Cobra!" "Armament: Phantom!" all sound better than "Armor of...!" Although it kind of still works for Oni, but the others it just sounds really bad. So, I switched to the armament thing. So, yes, there is method to my madness. Sorry I didn't mention that at the start of last chapter, too many other things to apologize for, like completely changing the name of the chapter.

Three more things, and then I'll shut up, I promise. I know you've seen it previously spelled Heimdale, if you've been reading the fic for a while. Did a double check and found out the more proper spelling is Heimdallr, so I'm going with that from now on and have since corrected the spelling in past chapters. Also, I have been spelling it Razura, watched the sub again recently and found out they spelled it Rajura, so I switched it, in a effort to be consistent with the sub, since I've been using those spellings. That's also why the e in Nasté's name suddenly gained an accent. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

Mind, Soul, and Body:  
Book One: Shadows of the Past  
Chapter Thirteen: Sakura  
By Corlock Striker

May 19, 2001 Valaskjálf, Asgard -

Odin sat once more upon Hlidskjalf, his single eye scanning across the Nine Realms. He sneered, the pests were hiding from him somehow. He'd seen them, become familiar with their auras, he should have no trouble finding them. Yet, he couldn't see a single one of them. Even Heimdallr was invisible to him upon Hlidskjalf, though he knew exactly where the man stood. Odin directed his gaze to the Midgard side of Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. He knew Heimdallr was there, encased within a pillar of stone none of them could break. He had confirmed that in person. Still, looking down from Hlidskjalf, there was no stone pillar at either end of Bifrost.

He had no way of finding the others that had been scattered by his spell. Heimdallr was easy, there was no where else he would go. The others? Odin did not know them well enough, not after that fool monk fooled with their armors. Then of course there was Loki. Loki put chameleons to shame when it came to hiding. He could not find the ones his spell had affected, nor could he find the ones that had been made to look as though they had been affected by it. They were not in their resting places. Something or someone else was masking them from his sight. He ground his teeth.

Rather abruptly his gaze was pulled to a group of tiny islands his ravens told him was called Japan, and focused in on a city called Tokyo. It narrowed to a particular street. The traffic on the street frozen as the humans stared at something. He cursed, he couldn't see what they were staring at. His attention on the city already causing dark clouds to swirl in the sky above it. Then, as if emerging out of a mist, one of the five that had withstood his blast stood on the street. The street around him rumbled. Why? Odin couldn't say, but he knew where one of them was.

He pulled his gaze back to the silver halls of Valaskjálf. He looked at the seven figures kneeling in front of his throne. He spoke, "One of them has shown himself. Gilgamesh, you shall take care of him. Do not engage him until you are sure he has found one of the sleeping ones. Once you know that, destroy them both. We must have those armors. Do not forget to collect their memories. They will provide valuable insights on how best to destroy the others." The hulking demigod nodded and rose, striding off.

(POV Shift)

May 19, 2001 Tokyo, Japan -

Toma stepped through the torii gate and out onto the crowded street. Cars, bike messengers and pedestrians all came to a screeching halt. He glanced skyward, a swirl of dark clouds was forming. Odin must know he was here. The doors of the gate swung shut and with a rumble, it disappeared into the earth . The clouds were heavy in the sky now, and anything powered by something other than a human stopped working. The people all panicked for a moment before they too were frozen in place. That was new. And then, they were being pulled skyward, each of them fading like smoke pulled towards a fan.

Toma scowled, it seemed Odin was doing just as Arago had, capturing people to increase his power. Certainly a less than ideal situation. Based on what Toma had just seen, the souls Odin collected from New York had significantly increased his abilities. _Wonderful_. Toma slowly walked down the street, bow out and arrow notched but not drawn, yet. The trip to the Imperial Palace was uneventful, though he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. He decided to search the East Gardens of the Palace first as they were slightly smaller. He entered through the Ote Gate.

He did a quick survey of the area immediately surrounding the gate, and rather quickly found himself in the Ninomaru Garden. She wasn't hard to spot once he was there. Sitting in the middle of the southern pond was a stone statue of Kayura in her armor. He approached cautiously, checking his surroundings, this would be about when they'd attack. A glowing blue cube, small enough to easily fit in his palm went flying by his head. It stuck to the statue's forehead. There was something weird about the cube, other than the fact that it was glowing. His brain had trouble making sense of it, it was a cube, but it was like it wanted to be something more.

He felt his jaw go slack, it couldn't be, could it? "Is that..."

"A hypercube, yes. Impressive that you were able to recognize it."

Toma spun on his heel drawing back the arrow he'd readied, drawing a bead on the unfamiliar voice. The man could only be described as a giant. He looked middle eastern and his armor seemed Persian, he carried a scythe. Toma let the arrow fly. "I don't know who you are, or what you just did, but you're toast."

The man was fast, easily dodging the arrow, he chuckled, "Come now Hermes, we should follow the proper forms. Ceremony is ever so important. We'll start with introductions, of course. As I already know who you are, I'll introduce myself. I am Gilgamesh, perhaps you've heard of me?"

The blood left Toma's face, Gilgamesh? The Sumerian demi-god? This wasn't good. Toma jumped away, putting more distance between the two of them. If he was right about who this guy was, Toma didn't want him getting in close. He let loose another arrow, this time the man caught it and snapped it in half. That was not promising.

(POV Shift)

Outside of Time, Location Unknown -

_Well I love no one and I don't care who knows__  
__Don't care if you're far away__  
__Don't give a damn if you're close__  
__I'm the vacant distraction of a broken old man__  
__I lack shape or color__  
__Not even gray or even tan_

_I'd hate all I see but it makes me too tired__  
__I'm much more at home when left uninspired__  
__So damn me to hell and resist if you must__  
__But lower your eyes once and I'll emerge from the dust_

_For I am nothing__  
__Yes I am nothing__  
__Yes I am nothing  
__And I love no one_

_ No, that's not who I am! Not anymore! I am capable of love! I love Toma!_ She screamed at herself as a song she'd never heard before blasted through her head. There was nothing around her, just the void of her mind. She was desperate to escape from this prison of her own making, part of her panicking over the fact that she had no idea where she was. There was another part of her mind though that wasn't giving into panic and outrage, it was utterly calm. That was the part of her mind she needed to reach, but it was so hard to fight down the panic and the shame.

She'd done so many horrible things when Arago had control of her mind and Kayura had been completely devoid of any sort of positive emotions, so the song rang true to her past. She had been nothing and she had loved no one. She'd been practically pure evil. It was a period of her life she tried her best to forget, but the song brought it all back. It accused her of not changing, of still being that person, and the idea that she hadn't changed terrified her. Somehow she fought down the panic and shame and clawed her way into that calm part of her mind.

Once there rational thought returned. Last thing she remembered was being in Times Square, confronting Odin. He lashed out them, trying to destroy them. It seemed she was still alive, so that hadn't worked. The question then was where was she? She doubted she'd been captured by Odin, this didn't seem like the sort of approach he'd take to breaking someone. No, Arago had tried to destroy the Troopers when they first confronted him, and his attack had sent them all flying to their resting places. Then that's probably where she was, her armor's resting place. Too bad she had no idea where that was. Now, why was that song playing in her head? She listened to it carefully. It attacked her weakness, reminding her of her great shame and greatest fear. Could this be some sort of vision quest? If so, what was it trying to tell her? She took a deep breath and let the song fill her mind.

Kayura didn't scream out a denial this time, she stayed calm and thought. She accepted the fact that she had been what the song accused her of. In response, she asserted she had changed, firmly and calmly she made herself listen, confronting her fear. She was capable of love, she knew this. She loved Toma and he returned her love. She was not that person anymore. She would never be that person again. The song moved to a new verse.

_Well I love everyone I am filled with delight  
__I understand all your feelings, I don't see from wrong or right  
__I'm the look in your eyes when you're telling the truth  
__I'm the wisdom of age and the beauty of youth_

_I am shape substance color darkest black, palest white  
__Speckled gold ringing mirror, sharp, soft and bright  
__I'm rage passion laughter and the need to know why  
__Come sample all my riches, I'm pure stimuli_

_For I am everything  
__Yes I am everything  
__Yes I am everything  
__And I love everyone  
__Under the sun_

Kayura shook her head sadly, _I'm not that either. No one can be that. I will not hold myself to an impossible standard._ It was a wonderful ideal, to try and love everyone, but unrealistic. People were a full range of emotions, including hate. There had only been a few men she'd heard of that had been able to be that good, and one of them might not have existed at all. He was more legend than fact. Once more the song switched to a new verse.

_Well I can only love someone, I am just a person  
__My father loved my mother and I am her son  
__The preceding verses are the halves of my soul  
__I'm just the battlefield and that is my role_

_There's a tug of war between what I can and can't feel  
__The inevitable compromise, determines the real  
__The equation, the reason for my being here  
__The struggle resulting in my invention of the tear_

_For I'm only something  
__Yes I'm only something  
__Yes I'm only something  
__And I can only love someone_

_And it's the best I can do  
__It's the very best I can do  
__You're probably someone too  
__So perhaps I love you  
__Perhaps you'll love me too  
__Perhaps you'll love me too  
__Perhaps you'll love me too_

Kayura nodded, she could be that. Well, except for being someone's son. Those were realistic expectations for herself. She couldn't love everyone, but she could love those who loved her and those she chose to love. That was who she was, just a person. Not a demon, not an angel. She wasn't perfect, but she wasn't evil, she just was. The song stopped. She felt herself awakening. Toma was nearby, he was looking for her. She smiled. Then everything went wrong. There was a flash of blue light in her head and she screamed as she fell back into darkness.

(POV Shift)

May 19, 2001 Tokyo, Japan -

The fight was not going in his favor. Toma was battered and bruised, worst of all he was slowing down. He'd managed to score a few hits with his arrows, but they were mostly superficial wounds, his opponent shrugged them off. The man's strength was overwhelming. He was certainly living up to the myths. Additionally, Toma was having little success keeping Gilgamesh at a distance. Oh, he could get away from the man for a time, but he invariably closed the distance. When Toma did manage to break away from Gilgamesh, he was only able to get off one or two shots, not like at the start.

Gilgamesh smirked, "What's wrong Hermes, are you getting tired? I'm disappointed, I'm barely getting any exercise from this little farce."

Toma growled, "My name isn't Hermes, and as to me being tired? Hardly. I can do this all day." He could hear the bluff in his own voice, but he jumped back and drew another arrow. He closed his eyes for a moment and found his center. His only chance was to use his Sure Kill. He got ready to unleash it, opening his eyes and lining up the arrow with the center of Gilgamesh's forehead. A flash of blue light filled his vision.

Gilgamesh's smirk was heavy in his voice, "Ah, good, it's finished with her." He was holding the hypercube again, "You asked before what I did to her. You're about to find out, first hand."

The flash of light interrupted Toma as he was about to unleash his attack. That was all the opportunity Gilgamesh needed, the demi-god closed the distance between them and slammed a fist into Toma's stomach, slapping the cube against his forehead. Toma screamed as he fell into darkness. Before it completely engulfed him, he thought he heard the sound of stone cracking.

(POV Shift)

The darkness broke, a spider web of light appeared before her eyes, and then shattered into reality. Anger filled Kayura's soul as she scanned her surroundings. After she had made peace with her past she had fallen into darkness. In that darkness she had been made to re-watch her entire life; even things she had truly forgotten. Every horrible act had played back before her eyes. Hunched forward slightly, and panting she caught sight of a man with a scythe standing over Toma's prone form. She let out a scream of rage and charged the man's back, raising the blade of her kusari gama above her head. Her scream alerted him, a foolish thing to have done. He turned and blocked her downward slash with the shaft of his scythe.

Her left hand tightened on the chain of her weapon and she swung the spiked end of her weapon into his gut as hard as she could. He doubled over and she slammed her knee into his face. That's when she noticed her armor was different. It looked more like the new armor that Toma and the others had received; a more traditional Japanese armor and mostly white. Her tunic had stayed the same, the color accents were in the colors of her old armor, and the cloth beneath her plates was the dark blue of her old sub-armor, but that was all that was the same. Even her kusari-gama had changed. The scythe was rather plain and simple in design, though it still had a notch in the blade for breaking staves. The spike was a simple spike, much like a plum, rather than the previous four bladed one.

Her opponent righted himself and made a downward slash at her with his scythe. Kayura stepped in towards him, pulling the chain of her weapon taught, blocking his strike. She wrapped the chain around the staff and yanked it down and behind her on her left side, jamming her right elbow into his stomach. She then performed a sweep kick with her right foot, knocking him to the ground, wrenching the scythe out of his hands at the same time. Stomping down on his chest she held him in place and tossed his weapon away. She leaned down and pressed the blade of her scythe to his throat. She growled out, "_What have you done to Toma?_"

Despite his position and the fact that he had his head craned backwards, stretching his neck out to avoid having it slit, the man laughed. "_The same thing I did to you. I'm copying his memories._"

Rage flared in her chest and she nearly opened his aorta right then. "_So, you're the one that made me relive my entire life. I ought to kill you right now. But you're more useful alive You're going to tell us everything you know about Odin. Everything._" She still had to fight with herself not to kill him. He could tell her killing intent was authentic; she saw the realization in his eyes.

His eyes darted over to Toma and he laughed at her again, "_No, I don't think I will. So, sorry to disappoint you._" A sudden flash of blue light blinded her. His hands clamped down around the ankle of the foot on his chest. Next Kayura was flying through the air, her flight stopped abruptly by a stone wall. The man righted himself and retrieved his scythe as she peeled herself off the stone. A glowing blue cube like thing floating above his left palm.

She studied the man for a moment, "_Seems there's still a bit of fight left in you._"

The man had the audacity to grin at her, "_Always. _" Toma began to stir and let out the softest of groans. The man looked over his shoulder at Toma and then back at her. "_Sadly, two on one is not my cup of tea._" He looked at the cube thing, then back at her. "_I've achieved enough. Ta ta._"

Kayura's eyes widened, she wouldn't let him get away that easily. She charged towards him, that grin still plastered across his face. He tucked the cube into a pouch at his waist, as though he had all the time in the world. She was almost within striking distance. He raised his left hand and flapped his fingers up and down giving her a wave as he took a step back. _No, I won't let you get away! Not after what you did!_ She swung the spike of her weapon towards him, aimed right at his chin. Just before it connected the man shimmered and faded from sight. She skidded to a halt letting out a scream of frustration.

Toma sat up rubbing his head and looking around aimlessly for a moment. Then it seemed he remembered he had been in the middle of a fight before he passed out. He jumped to his feet and drew an arrow notching it and scanning the garden. Not seeing anyone he looked back to her, "_He got away didn't he?_"

She nodded, letting out a sigh. She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him, "_Yes, but at least you're alright._"

He gave her that sarcastic smile of his, feigned outrage in his voice, "_Hey, that's my line!_" His expression softened and he stepped away from her, holding her at arms length. His blue eyes traveled up and down her body, "_I like the new armor. Where did it come from?_"

Kayura shrugged and looked down at her armor. She had to admit she liked it far more than the old one, "_I have no idea. I woke up and I was wearing it._" She turned her eyes to the armor, craning her neck and twisting arms and legs to look it over, even peeking under the tunic. Her shoulder pieces looked a lot like Ryo's new ones, though hers angled downwards rather than up. Her gauntlets seemed to be a much simplified version of her old ones, bulging upwards towards the elbow, with a single curved spike protruding from the raised surface. Those were the only spikes on the armor. The plating over her chest had a pointed black v at the top, and sideways triangular plates along her ribs The plate over her abdomen was arched at the top, and then the sides arched inwards to a horizontal bottom. She had a yellow cord belt as well, much like Toma's. The centerpiece of her hip and thigh armor had arching sides that met at a point about a quarter of a way down her thighs and was rather narrow. The pieces to either side, hidden by her tunic were black and simply curved around her thighs. The back pieces was similarly simple and in black.

Her shin armor was made of three pieces, one piece that wrapped around her calve muscle and a second piece that wrapped around the back of the narrow section of her shin. There was a single piece down the front of her shin that was slightly wider at the top than the bottom. At the very top, a black section cupped upwards and out around her knee. There was also a black sickle moon, with the points towards the sky at the bottom of the front portion. On her feet were shoes similar to the ones for Shu's new armor.

She returned her gaze to Toma, "_But I agree with you. I like it much more._" She stepped in close to him, and he wrapped he arms around her waist as she draped hers over his shoulders. She gave him a wry grin, going up on her toes to whisper in his ear, "_Why am I not surprised that you're the one that came for me?_"

He pulled his head back to look into her eyes, "_Because I'll always come for my sakura blossom._"

She felt her cheeks go red.

He leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. She wasn't sure how long it lasted, but it was too short. He pulled away and untangled himself, "_Now, we should really head back. Follow me._"

Kayura started after him, "_Where are we going back to?_"

"_Arago's castle. The ten of you are scattered all over the world. So we hadto go there to be able to get everywhere we needed to go. Jess opened the gates for us._"

Kayura blanched and stopped dead, "_How many gates did she open and how quickly?_"

Toma stopped and looked back at her confused, "_I was the first one to leave, so I don't know for sure. But one to get us to the netherworld, one to send me here not long after that. Then she was going to send Seiji out right after that. Then Shu, then Shin and finally Ryo. So, the plan was for her to open six, one right after the other. She told us she could handle it Why?_"

Kayura took a deep breath, it wouldn't do any good to scream at Toma or the other Troopers. They didn't know the extent of Jessica's strength. Of course the girl would be bullheaded enough to think she could open that many gates. _Idiot!_ She managed to answer Toma in a close approximation to a civil tone, her voice tight with anger not meant for him, "_Because there is no way she can open that many gates in a row. At most she could maybe handle five and that would be pushing it. She could probably only managed four._" Kayura stopped her ranting for a moment and held up a hand, "_Wait, how exactly were you planning to get us to Arago's castle?_"

Toma took a swallow of air, "_Um, Jess gave each of us a slip of paper and said that when we were done, we should go back to the place where the gate had dropped us off and rip the paper. That would tell her to open a gate to bring us back._"

"_Idiot!_" Toma took a step back. Kayura took a deep breath and reigned in her anger, "_Not you, her._" She paused,_ "Although, actually, yes, partially you. I can open a gate there myself. You should know that! And so can the other Mashou. There is no need for us to travel back to where she opened the gate. I'll open one now. Here._" Kayura turned her back to Toma, stretching her arms out in front of her. She closed her eyes and sought her inner calm. Finding it she reached out to the netherworld, calling for it to grant her entrance.

A sudden rumble in the ground was its response. She smiled and opened her eyes, there was a gate right in front of her, the doors already swinging open. She looked back over her shoulder at Toma, "_Let's go._" She marched through the gate, she was going to give Jessica such a scolding! _That idiot!_ She could hear Toma following cautiously behind her. Just as well that he chose to step lightly. He and the other Troopers were going to get a talking to as well. _How could they have let her do something so reckless! A bunch of brainless fools, the lot of them!_

* * *

Author's Note:

I'd appreciate any feedback anyone is willing to give. Just contact me by e-mail or through the site. My only request is that you put something in the subject line about your e-mail being in response to my Ronin fanfic. I get a lot of spam, and I tend to delete mail from SNs I do not recognize. If you put something about your e-mail being about my writing, I won't delete it and then I will respond to you; if you don't do that I can't guarantee anything. My e-mail address is in my profile.

The song used in this chapter is "Battle of Someone" by Blues Traveler off of their album _Straight On 'Til Morning_. It's a great album, I highly recommend it.

Also of note, I have a deviant art account. My user name is Corlock-Striker. You can find a drawing of Kayura's new armor there. And perhaps a few spoilers as well.

Okay, so I'm sorry to say that for once, I can't actually tell you what the next chapter is going to be titled. Sorry. Additionally, I'm sure this chapter is full of typos and stuff. That's because I'm putting it up immediately after I finished writing it, since I've kept you waiting on it for so long. Rest assured, I will go back and correct it, just as I've been doing all along. Anyway, that's it.

Thanks for reading.

- Corlock Striker

So, slight revision. Fixed a few glaring mistakes. I'm sure there are still plenty of others. And on another note, I can now tell you that chapter fourteen is titled Eclipse. Thanks for reading.


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